F1 Mexico GP future doesn’t depend on "superhero" Perez’s Red Bull fate

In wake of Perez joining the F1 grid, the series returned to Mexico City's Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez following a 12-year hiatus.

Perez has always enjoyed patriotic home support, but the Mexican audience's fervour soared to new heights once the Guadalajara native joined Red Bull and became a regular contender for wins in 2021.

But amid his struggles alongside dominant team-mate Max Verstappen, the 33-year-old is under pressure to keep his seat beyond his current deal, which expires in 2024.

The Mexico GP organisers acknowledge that losing Perez from F1, or even from a top seat, would be a blow for the sold-out race.

But when asked by Autosport if the event can sustain its current popularity whenever Perez calls it quits, managing director Federico Rodriguez doesn't believe his race's fate is inextricably linked to their "superhero".

"We know that Checo is not going to be here one day," Rodriguez said.

"What we are working on is to have the experience work not only around Checo but the whole sport.

"You have a lot of Checo followers, but you also have Red Bull, Mercedes, Ferrari or some other teams.

"It may diminish the sales, but we know that is going to happen. So, we're working hard on the experience for the attendees."

Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images

Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19

He added: "He's our superhero. He's one of our probably top five, top three international athletes now, definitely.

"I know that we're going to suffer if we lose Checo, but we have to plan accordingly and account for that."

Mexico's recently renewed deal runs until 2025, with Rodriguez keen on extending the deal for many years to come.

"We want more than the years that we have right now in contract," he said. "We're going to go for as much as we can.

"Remember that for us, there's only one time to see the cars here and have the whole experience. That's why we are sold out, because we don't lose the joy of having Formula 1 here in the country.

"In a couple of weeks we're going on sale for 2024 and last year we went on sale at exactly the same time for this year, and we sold out in almost a couple of hours."