Is IndyCar closing in on a landmark Mexico City race for 2026? Here’s what we know 

IndyCar, being the highest class of America's open-wheel racing, is quite popular among motorsport fans. It often garners interest from various racing tracks, and in line with this, it has come to light that the sport could stage an event in Mexico City in 2026.

Specifically, the Grand Prix would take place at the well-known Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Racing circuit. Racer has been made aware of the fact that talks have taken place between the track and Penske Entertainment (owned by Roger Penske).

A Penske representative said the following in a conversation with Racer (the event could take place in March next year):

"Conversations continue to be positive and it’s certainly a place we want to be."

The Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez Racing circuit is well-known for hosting the races of the pinnacle of motorsport, Formula 1. It is a 4.304 km track that was named after Ricardo Rodriguez and Pedro Rodriguez.

Moreover, Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward is also from Mexico. If the IndyCar race in 2026 does take place at the track, the crowd would come out in large numbers, supporting their home hero among the other top stars like Alex Palou (three-time champion), Josef Newgarden (two-time champion), and Will Power (two-time champion).

Pato O'Ward's take on staging an IndyCar event in Mexico City

F1 Grand Prix of Mexico - Previews - Source: Getty

Pato O'Ward (who has been competing in the sport since 2018) is one of the most popular names in the world of IndyCar. Other than his Arrow McLaren duties, he is also the reserve driver for McLaren in F1, and thus, has driven an F1 car during a practice session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez racing circuit.

Last year, he was asked to give his take on IndyCar possibly going to Mexico City. In line with this, he added the following back then:

"I believe the purpose of going to Mexico is to help everyone and help everything (in IndyCar) grow. My mentality has always been, ‘How can I be better? How can we all be better and get bigger and make this a better experience for other people? We’re in entertainment, man." O'Ward said via IndyStar.

The 26-year-old further added:

"As much as we love to race, and we’re here to win, and all our efforts go into that, there’s a lot of efforts that go into making the sport grow bigger, because that’s ultimately what will allow us to keep going."

IndyCar has been around since the 1920s and over the years, has evolved 10-fold in terms of all its aspects. The current calendar has 17-Grand Prix events, and if Mexico is added next year, it would be fascinating to see whether a track would get dropped or 2026 would be an 18-race calendar.