A unique flavour – why the Mexico City Grand Prix will continue to be unashamedly Mexican

For the organisers of the Mexico City Grand Prix, the race weekend offers an annual opportunity to showcase their country on a worldwide stage.

The 2026 World Cup will kick off in Mexico, but hosting a round of the Formula 1 World Championship every year opens up a chance to truly celebrate the heritage of the nation.

The race only returned to the F1 calendar in 2015 but has since gone on to win the FIA’s Promoter of the Year award on no fewer than five occasions.

For Federico Gonzalez, who promotes the race for Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento (CIE), that recognition – as well as being shortlisted for the Promoter of the Year at the Autosport Awards – is just reward for the hard work that goes into staging the grand prix.

“What we want to do every year is to try and improve every single detail, making it a nicer experience year on year,” he said.

“This year, the paddock, we decorated it for the Mexican Day of the Dead, a completely different approach and ambience. We have won many awards since the race returned in 2015 and I think it’s because we really took a lot of care, my belief is we have an incredible team that is able to make things better every year.

“We cannot participate in the decision of the teams. So our responsibility is not if we tell a driver to change the tyres, that's not our job. Our job is to give the people a great experience and a great grand Prix in Mexico City.”

Calavera Catrinas in the Paddock

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

As part of that experience, the aim of the promoters is to make the race weekend as authentically Mexican as possible, tapping into the rich culture of the country.

As well as the Day of the Dead decorations, mariachi bands were playing across the weekend with Mexican dancers only adding to the fiesta atmosphere.

“What is important for us is that it is a platform for the country,” explains Gonzalez.

“With that in mind, all the decisions are made around how to have a very Mexican, Mexico Grand Prix, giving people from outside the country a real Mexican experience and that's part of the backbone of the race.

“Nine years ago, we understood that there are very few international events that happen in a country every year. The biggest ones - the Olympics or a World Cup, it's very difficult to have those events, and they happen only every four years.

“So the opportunity to have one race every year with this international, big impact, it's a great thing to have, because it gives you the opportunity to show the country, to show the culture. If it's an international event, you need to have the flavour of each country.

“It doesn't make sense going around the world having the same experience. So I think the flavour of having different tracks, different cultures, different countries, that makes it more exciting to be in Mexico.

"If you want the Mexican experience, we understand that. And again, I encourage all my team to even say, 'if we want to serve wine in the hospitality, it needs to be Mexican wine!'”