Why Mexican GP believes it has bright future, with or without Perez

Organisers of Formula 1’s Mexican 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 to perform 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 Mexican 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 Motorsport.com 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 who 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 Netflix series Drive to Survive.

“I think that the audience has changed a lot, it’s not the same audience as in 2015,”…