Organisers of the Formula 1 Mexico City Grand Prix are growing “very concerned” about the prospects of a contract renewal amid Sergio Perez being axed by Red Bull.
Question marks were lingering over Perez’s F1 future when the Mexican arrived at his home GP last October to the rapturous welcome of a venue-record 404,958 fans across the weekend.
Perez came into the event amid a terrible run of form, admitting “I’ve had a terrible season” and hoping for a strong result to change his fortunes.
That strong result never came and Perez’s poor run continued through to the end of the 2024 season, whereby Red Bull chose to part ways with the Mexican.
With the Mexico City GP on an expiring contract in 2025 and the star man almost all of the event’s fans turn up to see no longer on the bill, race organisers are fearful that this year could be its last on the F1 calendar.
READ MORE – F1 Circuit Contracts: Which venues have expiring deals on the current calendar?
“As organisers, we are very concerned about the absence of Sergio Perez from the Formula 1 grid,” said Alejandro Soberon, CEO of Mexico City GP promoter CIE (via FormulaPassion).
“However, we are trying to find a way to extend our contract with the championship.”
Two more venues, Imola and Las Vegas are also on expiring deals in 2025, although the latter is likely to secure a long-standing extension given F1 acts as a self-promoter and the local government has cleared a pathway for 10 years of racing in Sin City.
With the star man out of the picture and several regions keen to take a place of their own in the F1 schedule, Mexico City’s future looks uncertain.
Changing tunes from Mexico City GP regarding F1 prospects
As has been well documented, Perez’s future was up in the air before the most recent Mexico City GP even took place.
However, at the time, Soberon was far more bullish regarding the race’s prospects of securing an F1 contract extension, saying: “We are now able to provide the public with a much better show than we did five years ago, and we believe that the competition between the drivers and the bright colours of our show are enough to keep the spectators interested.
“It all depends on marketing and, even if it is always better to have an idol of the local public available, in case there isn’t one we are convinced that the fans will still find a hero to support.”
The Mexico City GP has been a mainstay on the F1 calendar since its reintroduction in 2015 (except for the COVID-impact 2020 season), but then again, so has Perez.
Without Perez, the Mexico City GP must prove it can still draw a large enough crowd to tempt F1 into a contract extension, given the likes of South Africa, Rwanda and more would gleefully take its position on the calendar if given the chance.
READ MORE – Helmut Marko reveals cost of Sergio Perez F1 exit to Red Bull
