Mexico (AFP)
The mayor of the Mexican capital, Claudia Sheinbaum, announced Wednesday that the Mexican Grand Prix would be held after 2019, without public funds, after months of negotiations with Liberty Media, holder of the commercial rights of F1.
A senior International Automobile Federation (FIA) executive is scheduled to travel to Mexico on Thursday to sign the deal with the capital's government, Claudia Sheinbaum said, but does not specify how long the competition will be held at the Hermanos Rodriguez circuit. . The current contract was from 2015 to 2019.
A press conference is scheduled for Thursday late morning.
"This is good news for the city (...) thanks to a group of businessmen who made this possible, because this time, the city does not invest any public resources," said the mayor. in a video posted on Twitter.
Sheinbaum did not say which contractors had committed to work to maintain the Grand Prix.
The mayor also recalled that the holding of the prestigious motor sport event "brings tourism, income and is good news for the country".
During the first half of the year, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's government failed to reach an agreement with the F1 promoter to renew the Mexican Grand Prix for the next five years.
According to ESPN, the federal administration has not agreed to pay 800 million pesos (about 35 million euros) needed to renew the contract and host the show over the next five years.
But the administration of the capital led by Sheinbaum would have accepted the possibility of investing 400 million pesos.
The first three editions of the Mexican Grand Prix (2015, 2016 and 2017) have generated more than 30,000 jobs and economic spinoffs of nearly two billion euros, according to data from CIE.
The FIA has rewarded the four editions in Mexico (2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018) as the best of the year. The event, broadcast in 185 countries, has helped Mexico to become one of the countries hosting F1 GPs.
© 2019 AFP