Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
Viad. Río de la Piedad S/n, Granjas México, Iztacalco, 08400 Ciudad de México, CDMX
5552379920
http://www.ahr.mx/
Mexico has a long history of motor racing, two of its earliest stars were the Rodríguez brothers, Ricardo and Pedro; who were Formula 1 drivers during the 1960s and had a large following in the country. Unfortunately, Ricardo perished during a race in Mexico City in 1962 and Pedro did the same at a race in Germany in 1971. In honor of these two fallen race car drivers, the main race track in Mexico was named the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez (Rodríguez Brothers Racetrack) in 1973. This racetrack is now one of the premier tracks in the world as it has hosted the Formula 1 Gran Premio de México (Mexico Grand Prix) intermittently; from 1962 to 1970, and then from 1986 to 1992. In 2014 the Autódromo Hermanos underwent a complete renovation in order to meet the standards required by the FIA (International Automobile Federation) in order to host the Mexico Grand Prix once more.
The renovation included not only a complete overhaul of the racetrack itself, which had to be completely resurfaced and leveled (as Mexico City’s seismic activity and soft soil had brought dangerous distortions to the track), but also the construction of new pits, stands, VIP areas, and a hospital, among many other things. The project was completed in time for the Mexico Grand Prix of 2015 and the race has been in town ever since. The renovation had a cost of $360 million dollars, with the money coming from the government and private companies.
There’s always controversy surrounding the race, as many politicians and some sectors of the public feel that the race is a costly event to the public budget and that not everyone has the income to partake in the celebrations. Yet the Mexico Grand Prix has always found a way to sell out the event (capacity is 120 thousand people) and the event has had a positive impact on the economy, thanks to the thousands of tourists that come from the rest of the country and internationally. The next race will be in late October of 2022, as part of the F1 schedule for 2022.
It’s true that tickets are expensive (ticket prices run from $1,500 to $27,000 pesos) yet anybody that has ever been to one of these races can tell you that it’s a bucket-list life experience, as the atmosphere filled with excitement is hard to match anywhere else.
