Racing fans fill the stands at the Mexican Grand Prix.
The future of the Mexican Grand Prix auto race remains in doubt as the race’s organizing committee has failed to reach an agreement with the federal government on funding.
The ESPN sports network reported that President López Obrador’s administrations has not been willing to provide the 800 million pesos (US $42 million) necessary to keep Mexico in the Formula 1 races over the next five years.
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum offered to provide 400 million pesos to maintain the Hermanos Rodríguez racetrack and suggested that the rest of the funding should come from the private sector.
Mexico’s five-year contract with the Grand Prix provided 360 million pesos, most of which was public money.
Mexico is not the only country considering dropping out of Formula 1: Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom are also considering not renewing their contracts.
However, newcomers Vietnam and the Netherlands have been added to the race calendar.
The Grand Prix is returning to the Netherlands after a 35-year absence, but the race will not be dependent on government money. The newspaper El Economista revealed that the necessary funds will be provided by corporate sponsors and ticket sales.
According to statistics provided by the previous Mexican government, the 2017 Grand Prix generated 14.8 billion pesos (US $778.2 million) in economic spillover, making it the country’s most economically significant sporting event that year.
Meanwhile, negotiations in Mexico continue.
Source: El Economista (sp), ESPN (sp)
