Over the past few years, much has been said and written about the growth of Formula 1, particularly in the United States. Whether it was the thrilling 2021 title fight between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton, the success of the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive, or some combination of factors, F1 is experiencing a moment in the United States. The circuit now comes to the US three times a season including the most recent addition to the schedule, the glitzy Las Vegas Grand Prix.
However, F1 has experienced a surge in popularity in another nation in recent years, with a much clearer reason why. That nation is Mexico, and that reason is their favorite son, Sergio Pérez.
F1 has surged in popularity in Mexico over the past few seasons, with attendance at the Mexico City Grand Prix evidence of the sport’s growing traction. Since returning to the schedule in 2015 the Mexico City Grand Prix has been a sellout every single year, and this season over 400,000 fans attended the race, making it the third-highest race weekend of the season.
It was also a record-breaking figure for the race’s history.
Pérez is without question Mexico’s favorite son, and he stands atop F1 history as the most accomplished Mexican driver in the sport’s history. Pérez and Pedro Rodríguez are the only Mexican drivers to ever win an F1 race, with Pérez reaching the top step of the podium six times in his career.
Since joining Red Bull in 2021 Pérez has been a significant part of that team’s success, helping Verstappen clinch his first Drivers’ Championship that season. Pérez was a big part of Red Bull returning to the top of the Constructors’ Championship standings in 2022, and a season ago when Red Bull defended their title he finished second to Verstappen in the Drivers’ Championship, his best result ever in the sport.
He was also the first Mexican driver in F1 history to win the Monaco Grand Prix, the sport’s premier event.
This fascinating piece from the Los Angeles Times from last season highlighted just how much fans in his home country appreciate Pérez, and that appreciation can perhaps be best summed up in this quote from one such fan, Mary Rosas: “He’s making an impact on all Latinos and making Formula One more popular,” she said. “There’s something about Checo and his attitude — he talks so well about his country and he doesn’t lose his roots.”
Over the years, Pérez has spoken at length about what the Mexico City Grand Prix, and the support from his home country’s fans, mean to him.
“Nothing compares to being in Mexico,” said Pérez at the FIA Press Conference ahead of the 2023 Mexico City Grand Prix. “Being in the States gets close but no, not even. The reception and the passion of the fans that I have here doesn’t compare to anywhere else in the world.”
Also in that session, Pérez declared the reception he and the other drivers receive from the Mexican fans to be the best of the season.
“I think we’ve got to appreciate, obviously, the Mexican fans are really enthusiastic. But at the same time, we have to make sure that the drivers are comfortably going around the paddock, and I think that that should be a nice balance,” added Pérez. “And I just want everyone to have a great time in my country and I think that’s something that went over the limit last year, that hopefully this year can be improved, because overall, it’s in my opinion, like the best reception for all the drivers in the world.”
Pérez shared similar thoughts ahead of this year’s installment of the Mexico City Grand Prix.
“It’s pretty impressive. You always forget when you are on the other side of the world with so many races, you really forget the amount of support you have in your own country,” said Pérez at the FIA Press Conference ahead of this season’s Mexico City Grand Prix. “And yeah, it’s amazing. It’s a great opportunity. It’s a great experience every single Grand Prix. You know, it’s crazy to think that this is the ninth Grand Prix that we’ve had. I was just joking with some of my sponsors yesterday, every year we used to do a football game for the for the lead up to the grand prix and now nobody can play because everyone has issues with the knees, with the back, you know, so everyone is aging so much! It’s just great you know to look back at it and obviously this year again I think this Mexican Grand Prix, to me, I think it’s the best in the world by quite a chunk.”
What made this year’s installment of the Mexico City Grand Prix extra special for the home fans was the presence of Pato O’Ward, another Mexican driver who competes for Arrow McLaren in IndyCar, and is a reserve driver for McLaren’s F1 team. O’Ward drove in the first practice session ahead of the 2024 Mexico Grand Prix, giving Pérez a chance to talk about his fellow Mexican driver and the growth of the sport in Mexico.
“Well, I think it’s great, you know, for the fans. In the past, we had Esteban [Gutierrez] that was there also. We had two Mexican drivers at the time. And it’s really hard for a country to have one Formula 1 driver. So to have two racing at the same time, it was just a unique moment,” said Pérez. “So it’s great for the crowd. And I hope Pato can get an opportunity soon in a team to be a racing driver in Formula 1.
Pérez has not enjoyed the strongest of seasons in 2024, facing questions each week about his future at Red Bull. With results at the Qatar Grand Prix last weekend, the season’s penultimate race, Pérez is locked into an eighth-place finish in the Drivers’ Championship standings, and Red Bull was eliminated from contention for the Constructors’ title.
But even as he was struggling, those around him pointed to the support he would receive in Mexico City as something special. Speaking with the media, including SB Nation, following the United States Grand Prix in Austin Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner indicated the crowd in Mexico would be behind Pérez, pushing him to success.
“Hopefully, with the support that he will receive in Mexico, it will again give him that boost,” said Horner in Austin.
Sadly, that boost never materialized for Pérez, who finished 17th in this year’s Mexico City Grand Prix. But those results matter little when compared to what Pérez has meant to the sport, and its growing Mexican fan base.
After all, he is a big reason why the Mexico City Grand Prix has become, in his words, the “best in the world.”
