This is my spectacting guide to the Main Grandstand 2 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit for the Mexican Formula 1 Grand Prix.
Contents
Grandstand 2 Mexico GP location
The Main Grandstand 2, also known as Grada 2, at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez circuit is located on the left hand side (outside) of the start finish straight, between the exit of the final corner – Turn 17 – and the start line. It’s directly opposite the pit lane and pit garages, meaning you can see what the F1 teams are doing during the race and their driver’s pitstops.
It’s part of the Main Grandstand which is split in to Main Grandstand 2 (this one) and Main Grandstand 1, which is to the right of this stand slightly earlier along the main straight.
This grandstand is part of the Green Zone (Zone Verde).
This grandstand is very close to entrance gates 4, 6 and 7, which are all around a 10 minute walk away from this grandstand.
It’s also very easy to access this stand if you’re planning on getting to the track using public transport. If so, the Ciudad Deportiva metro station is the closest, right outside those three entry gates I mentioned above. The station is no more than 5 to 10 minutes walk away from those gates, so it’s super convenient.
Grandstand details
Cover
This grandstand is classed as being partially covered. It does have a roof over the top, but it only really extends over the top (back) few rows. As the grandstand is also South-facing, unless you in those top rows, you’re likely to be in the sun for most of the day. So make sure you check out my guide on what to wear to the Mexican GP so you dress appropriately for the hot Mexican sunshine!
Seats
The seats are individual plastic chairs.
TV screens
There are some TV screens on the other side of the circuit on top of the pit buildings opposite, so wherever you sit in this stand you’ll be able to see a screen.
This image was taken from the left hand end of the stand, and as you can see from here you need to look over to the right slightly to see the screens:
Mexico GP Grandstand 2 tickets
This is one of the most popular places to sit for the Formula 1 in Mexico, so tickets for this grandstand sell out very quickly because of its fantastic location. But don’t worry. If you still want tickets for this stand then you can buy tickets through ViaGoGo.
There’ll always be some available on their website right up until the last minute before the race itself and you can often find them at a slightly cheaper price there as well.
I’ve used Viagogo for F1 tickets a number of times over the last few years, including for my recent trips to the Las Vegas and Canadian Grand Prix. I’ve always had a great experience using their ticket platform and have on every occasion actually managed to find cheaper tickets on there by waiting until closer to the date of the race to buy some.
They also have a very good ‘FanProtect Guarantee’ which ensures your money and tickets will be kept safe. That has always given me additional peace of min when booking with them.
Mexico Main Grandstand 2 seating plan
The image below shows the seating plan for grandstand 2 at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez during the Mexican GP weekend.
As the seating chart above shows,this grandstand is made up of a number of different blocks.
There are two levels to this grandstand. The slightly lower level has blocks numbered in the 100 range (blocks 101 -107). The upper level has blocks numbered in the 200 range (201 – 217). But as the image below shows, even the seats in the 101-107 block are high above the ground, and high enough to see over the safety fence.
Each block in the 101-107 range has rows which start at 1 low down at the front and increase up to 10 at the back row. Then in the 201-207 blocks the rows start at row 11 at the front and increase to row 24 highest up at the back.
In each individual block the seat numbers increase from left to right (if you stand on the track and look up at the grandstand). Seat numbers start from 1 in each individual block.
View
The map below shows the areas of the circuit you can see from this grandstand in green:
As the image above shows, from this grandstand your view mainly consists of the exit of Turn 17, the first half of the start / finish straight and the pit lane and pit garages opposite.
This grandstand is opposite the end of the pit garages, which will be occupied by the last few teams in the previous year’s constructor standings. The further to the right you sit in the grandstand (lower block numbers), the more you’ll be opposite some slightly higher teams’ pit garages. But even on the far right in blocks 101 and 201 you’ll still be down by teams 7 / 8 / 9 in the standings.
The start line is directly between Grandstand 1 and Grandstand 2. So if you want to be as close to the start line as you can, go for seats in 101 or 201.
To help give you an idea of the views from this grandstand, the videos below were taken from different seats.
This video shows the view from Block 107 row 8:
This video shows the view from Block 10 row 1 (front row):
And this 360 degree image shows the view from Block 106 row 10 (just behind it):
Best seats
Personally I’d like to be as far to the right as possible, as close to the start line as I could get. That would mean I’d have a better view of the drivers and team members during the pre-race grid walk, plus I’d be able to see the higher teams’ pit garages and pit stop slightly easier.
Even seats in the 101 – 107 range seats have a nice high view. But I’d prefer to be even higher up, so would go for seats in the 201 – 207 range.
So I’d aim for blocks 201 and 202, ideally in rows 15 and up to try and be in the shade for as much of the day as possible.
Is this a good place to sit?
You don’t have a view of the first corner so you won’t see much overtaking here, but you will have a good view of the pit lane, pit stops and pit garages opposite. Personally I’d try and go for seats in the adjacent Grandstand 1 for a better view of the pre-race grid walk and the final corner. But it wouldn’t be critical.
The roof over the top makes this a great place to sit if you can get the top few rows. Plus there’s many food and drinks options beneath and behind the grandstand, with toilets make this a fantastic place to sit. There’s loads of food and drink beneath / behind the grandstand, toilets nearby, and it’s easily accessed from transport.
