With the deadline for the Mexican Grand Prix event organizers rapidly approaches, the future of the race could be at risk as the newly elected government power in Mexico announces that the event will not be given government funding. The race was revived in 2015 and is contracted until 2019, ranking as the event with the second highest attendance in 2018.
Rumored by the mayor of Mexico City earlier last week, the President of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador who took office in December 2018 has confirmed that the country will not provide the event with any form of financial support. Instead the funds will be allocated for the Mayan Train project, a 1500km long passenger and freight train line that will span from Palenque to Cancun. The country’s 2019 budget has allocated more than $300 million for the project, which is projected to cost up to $8 billion.
The Mexican Grand Prix will reportedly cost the Mexican government roughly $45 million per year. Figures released by the race promoters regarding the 2015 to 2017 events claim that the event generated an average of 430 million per year ($1.3 billion over three years) and additional estimates mark the government investment at around $35 million annually ($106 million over the same three-year period.
Reports suggest that the race attracted more than a million fans, ranking just behind Silverstone in 2018 for the highest attendance with an approximate attendance of 135,000 on race day and 335,000 throughout the weekend. The event also created a reported 31,500 jobs from 2015 to 2017.
The event organizers will now need to determine whether they will be able to host the event beyond this year without government assistance. The event’s five-year contract expires after this year’s race and the deadline to renew the hosting contract is the last day of February.
