Mexican GP would be a 'no-brainer'

The son of the world's richest man, Carlos Slim, believes that a Mexican Grand Prix in the near future is a "no-brainer" for Formula One.

Carlos Slim Domit has been working to bring a grand prix back to Mexico, with the last race having been held there in 1992. With Bernie Ecclestone admitting he would like to return to Mexico and South Africa, Slim Domit told the FIA's In Motion magazine that interest in the sport hadn't waned as Mexico approaches 20 years of absence from the Formula One calendar, and that the fanbase remained firmly in place.

"Perhaps naturally I embrace the idea and believe that a new race for Mexico is what, in colloquial English, is referred to as a 'no-brainer'," Slim Domit said. "Mexico has long been close to Formula One, closer to it indeed than it has been to many other racing series that have visited the country.

"From the non-championship 1962 Mexican Grand Prix, which claimed the life of the talented local hero Ricardo Rodriguez, through following his brother Pedro's illustrious career in the sport and on to the series' last visits to the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City in the late 1980s and early 90s, Mexicans have always followed Formula One with intense interest."

Slim Domit also said that the emergence of Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez has seen interest grow even further recently.

"Even when Formula One left our shores in 1992, passion for the sport was undiminished and the seasons since have been watched avidly on TV by a sports-mad nation. The rise of a new generation of Mexican racers has only served to boost interest in Formula One. We not only have Sergio Pérez impressing at Sauber, but waiting in the wings is another rising star, Esteban Gutierrez.

"The potential of these young drivers has reawakened interest in F1 beyond hardcore fans and the huge crowds who flocked to see Pérez's F1 demonstration in his home town earlier this year attest to a new-found popularity for the sport that should be capitalised upon. It is, after all, a ready-made audience - unlike at some of the venues currently featuring on the F1 calendar."

ESPNF1