Organisers of Formula 1's Mexico Grand Prix are bullish that their sold-out event will remain successful regardless of Sergio Perez's F1 future, and are working on a new deal.
Perez signed a two-year contract extension earlier this year, but his continued difficulties in performing at a consistently high level have Red Bull constantly monitoring the situation for 2025 and beyond, bringing in reserve driver Liam Lawson at its satellite RB team as a potential future replacement.
Boosted by Perez's presence, the Mexico Grand Prix made a successful return on the calendar in 2015, with the event selling out for nine straight editions thus far. It is currently in talks with F1 to extend its current deal, which runs out after next year's race.
And while promoter CIE is naturally Perez's biggest supporter as he brings in local fans and ensures a pulsating atmosphere to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the grand prix's director Alejandro Soberon has said the event is well equipped to thrive regardless of having a local driver or not.
"What I can tell you is that the Formula 1 fandom in Mexico is very strong in general, and obviously Checo is a great enhancement for this. But Mexicans are having Formula 1 very, very close in their heart," Soberon said when asked by Autosport about the event's future whenever the 34-year-old ends up calling time on his F1 career.
"We have a much better show on the track today than what we had five years ago, so I think competition and quality of the spectacle is going to be enough to sustain the interest in the crowd. As the promoter of the race, we are very excited, trying to figure out a way to extend our contract, regardless of Checo.
"Everybody, of course, would love to have a local driver, because it's always better to have it. But there are very few races that have a local driver, and this year F1 in general has enjoyed sold-out crowds everywhere, and that's a reflection of the competition and the quality of the show that we've seen on the track."
The race's general director Federico Gonzalez added that the make-up of the race's 400,000-strong crowd had changed over the years and had raised a new generation of race fans that enjoy the series in general, partly driven by the Netflix series Drive to Survive.
"I think that the audience has changed a lot, it's not the same audience as in 2015," Gonzalez remarked. "A lot of things happened, like more competition on the track, Drive to Survive... and the work that we have been doing for these many years has changed the audience also. We have educated a new generation of race fans. Of course, we cheer for Checo, but also for the spectacle, for the race itself."
The Mexican promoters have adhered to a conscious marketing strategy of targeting local, national and international fans, aiming for an even three-way split between them. That ensures the race connects with the Mexican capital and its citizens, while also aligning with the government's wider tourism objectives.
Last year the tourism ministry reported that around 232,000 people travelled to Mexico City for the event from the rest of Mexico and overseas, with an estimated economic benefit of $175 million USD.
"Part of the strategy is to try and achieve a split of 33% international, 33% local Mexico City and 33% national Mexico ticket sales," Gonzalez said. "That ensures a healthier grand prix in terms of attendance and that is going to give us the peace, hopefully, that even if we don't have Checo, we can continue being sold out."
Soberon added: "We have one more year, and we already started conversations with Formula 1, with the city and with government officials to form the right coalition to make this happen and get an extension. We're fairly optimistic that we're going to have a race for many, many years."
He pointed out that the 2024 edition of the race sold out in just two hours, despite ticket sales opening soon after Perez's calamitous lap 1 crash during the 2023 edition, showing how strong the local support is for the lively event itself.
"It was a major blow for everybody, there was a sensation of a funeral," he said. "The fans couldn't watch him even for one lap. We decided to go on sale for this race 15 days after that, and there were a lot of people questioning if we needed to give people more time to forget about what happened. And we sold out in two hours for this year's race.
"We have seen better times for Checo, he has made the Mexican fans very, very happy for many years. But I'm an optimistic guy, I think he could still give us some more."
