There were a number of important meetings during the United States GP weekend in Austin about the possibility of a Grand Prix in Mexico. From what I hear, a five-year deal was agreed between the Formula One group and Carlos Slim Jr – the son of the world’s richest man – who will guarantee the deal. Some of Slim’s company will help pay for the race but a big chunk of money will also come from the Mexican government, which explains the presence of Mexico’s outgoing President Felipe Calderón in Austin. He has another 10 days left on his mandate and wants to sort something out before he leaves office. His successor Enrique Pena Nieto has also agreed to support an event, which is logical given that there are going to be two F1 drivers from Mexico next season.
The initial suggestion was that the race could take place at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City in June, to replace the postponed New Jersey race, but the various consortia bidding for the work all apparently agree that it is impossible to do all that is needed in the six months available, even if there is endless money. The problem is that the track not only needs to be resurfaced but also much of the track needs its drainage and foundations redone. The pit and paddock area will also need to be done from scratch. This cannot be achieved in time for 2013.
There is an argument that rather than botching in order to get a race for 2014, it might be wiser to invest and create a purpose-built facility in the Cancun area, but this is unlikely to be done before 2016, which is too late.
The old track will be a compromise solution because things have changed a lot since F1 left in 1992. The great Peraltada corner is unlikely to be revived because after F1 left a big new stadium was built inside the corner. This means that the track cannot be reprofiled to create runoff areas, and there is not an option on the outside of the corner because there is a main road which gets in the way.
joeblogsf1 
“there are going to be two F1 drivers from Mexico next season”
Love the casual statement!
Yeah, I noticed that too, hehe.
Not sure why they don’t announce their full lineup, maybe there is still some final figure negotiating going on.
Champcar ran there most recently using the current configuration. Given the amount of money at hand, the organizers should tear down the stadium and rebuild the Peraltada.
From my recollection, the stadium is just a horseshoe of baseball grandstands, neither expensive nor new.
Based on this information, 2013 looks right out. Though certainly a street race could be arranged with six months work and a lot of money. Most of IndyCar’s and Champar’s many street races had no great funding and nothing like six months of actual preparation. Somewhere in the large nation of Mexico, a suitable set of streets could be found.
Champ Car did two things to dealwith the Peraltada. There was a chicane before the Peraltada to slow the cars and it also ran a configuration where the course had a 90-degree right turn before the Peraltera and then went around the outfield of the baseball stadium and turned 90-degrees right again back to the old track near the middle of the Peraltada.
I think Champ Car ran a modified version of peraltada. I have a recollection that the first race diverted the cars through the baseball stadium.
Then in the final visits the circuit organisers put in a temporary chicane where the cars previously turned right to enter the stadium. I think this was because it was too expensive to hire the stadium and lay the temporary circuit each year.
NASCAR have visited since and run the full circuit.
Who knows what might happen if the world’s wealthiest man and his son become involved, perhaps baseball stadiums and highways can be moved. Looking on Google maps, there’s a lot of sports fields within the circuit grounds, so maybe the pits will be moved lock stock & barrel and peraltada reprofiled to the ’93 proposal or a Monza style parabolica?
It’s all very exciting though 🙂
Didn’t they have a circuit in Monterrey as well? They hosted A1 I believe. Don’t know the state of that circuit.
It’s gone now.
thanks for the update and commentary Joe. There seemed to be a marked absence of US Sponsors around the track. From a TV stand point it looked like the UBS Grand PRIX of Someplace .
Let us hope following on from the success ,the big US sponsors get behind the event to help the investment returns
One thing I noticed was that “Vodafone Mercedes McLaren” became “Verizon Mercedes McLaren” for the weekend. Vodafone owns some 45% of Verizon, the largest mobile carrier in the US. So, that’s a huge exposure for Verizon, a major US company.
I’d expect more US corporate presence in the future – I’m sure that’s the plan and I’m sure Bernie’s working on it.
“there are going to be two F1 drivers from Mexico next season”. I assume you are talkign about Gutierrez at Sauber – do you know/believe this to be a done deal?
Done deal, said by Slim Jr.
Peraltada is sorely missed. What a pity.
The great Nigel at Peraltada:
Demolish that stadium that’s getting in the way!
Anyone else have a problem with that?
Great race – what an exciting driver to watch Mansell was
To quote your last paragraph Joe ‘The old track will be a compromise solution because things have changed a lot since F1 left in 1992. The great Peraltada corner is unlikely to be revived because after F1 left a big new stadium was built inside the corner. This means that the track cannot be reprofiled to create runoff areas, and there is not an option on the outside of the corner because there is a main road which gets in the way.’
I am totally in favour of the campaign of safety that has made Formula One so survivable nowadays but I did notice at Austin (and India and Abu Dhabi) how much drivers now rely on the run-off areas to push arguably too hard rather than staying within the bounds of the track itself. They can obviously do it because they have to do so at Monaco for example.
I’m certainly not advocating brick walls if they make a mistake but it does seem that with some of the newer wide-open autodromes it’s creating somewhat of a PlayStation type approach
This is what irks me about the supposed dictatorship of Bernie. That he can’t see when to use it. If he was Bernie, Benevolent Lord Of F1, he would simply tell them to have it all changed so a great spectacle could be retrieved. And honestly. what would it really cost? Crazy, but for good reason, demands like that, which would be popular, are maybe the only upshot of such a system. He’s not throwing the right kind of bread in the circus.
Is there no way the Peraltada can be re-created elsewhere, if they are largely rebuilding the circuit ? Pity Tavo didn’t include it on his original sketch for Austin…
Joe, is Gutierrez a done deal, do you think?
Yes, I think. It has not been announced.
Joe,
What is your personal opinion on billionaires pushing their drivers into teams whilst dumping current drivers.
Is Gutierrez selected by Sauber on his talent or is this purely Slim dollars?
Talent
Raw talent is there -schooling and maturing of it, Sauber can provide. It would be great for Gutierrez to get a 3-year dev program there.
“he old track will be a compromise solution” So are we talking a different track layout and just for the first year while a new full spec track is built?
Did you hear the rumour about the pit garages at Austin being too small Joe? Supposedly another NASA style slight miss in the coming together of metres and feet (do they have yards in the USA?) If correct it is quite amazing since even on the cheapest CAD station it is a very simple matter to change the dimensions on a model/drawing from metric to imperial or to have both shown. (At lest the US length measurements are the same as we use in the UK, I know the weight and capacity measures are different, although misleadingly, they have the same names)
according to someone unofficial that i spoke with, the garages were around 6 inches less deep than desired, while being slightly wider than desired. this resulted in the area of the garage being above minimum standards even though the dimensions were insignificantly different than some would have liked.
so, in effect, not a big deal.
Would love to see a modern day Grand Prix at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Don’t see why the old Peraltada couldn’t be revived with a safer barrier on the outside. It’s an iconic corner and wouldn’t be anymore dangerous than the old final corner at Indy. While I appreciate the advances that have been in safety over recent years there are times when F1 goes too far in the other direction and forcing the cars to go through a butchered Peraltada would be another example of that.
Had the Mexican GP been retained for 1993 the plan was to convert Peralta into two tight 90-degree right-handers even back then (i.e. pre-Imola). So there is absolutely no chance of it being used by contemporary F1.
That’s a good point, remembering the accidents of Senna and Alliot exiting the corner, Alliot ending up alarmingly sliding across the track and crashing into the pit wall.
Joe, I think I read somewhere that Tavo Hellmund, who was originally the guy behind the Austin track before he left/was pushed out is involved in bringing back the possible Mexican GP? Hellmund, on memory, has a family connection to the old Mexican GP – his father ran it back in the day (?) and that’s how he came to know Bernie Ecclestone.
Joe, do you think there is much to be said for holding an oval race in the US time zone? A great way of increasing support further surely.
No
Looking at Google maps there is so much space inside and outside the track for Tilke to work his magic. Ok Peraltada will have to go but still lots of potential
Work his magic? You must know some other Tilke tracks the rest of us aren’t familiar with.
Didn’t Tilke design Spa, Laguna Seca, and Monza?
Steve: No, no and almost no.
Spa: has been in use since 1922 – designed in 1920 by Jules de Their and Henri Langlois Van Ophem and ran around public roads until 1983. After 83 the course ran on non-public sections and redevelopment took place in 2004 at the bus stop and further changes took place in 2006 and again in 2010.
Laguna Seca: (Mazda Raceway): Built in 1927, rebuilt in 1988 and some addtional work done in 2006.
Monza (Autodromo Nazionale Monza) opened in 1922 and was a combined oval and road course until the oval part of the course was abandoned after the 1969 season. There have been many changes to the track, too many to list here. The only connection Tilke had with Monza was reprofiling turn one in concert with another engineering group.
Read up on him first before you assign him track designs he had little to do with.
JV – I think you might need to check the batteries in your sarcasm detector…
Too rushed for sarcasm.
I only use a detector (allegedly officer) when traveling above the posted limit. -:)
Apologies to Steve if you were using laser instead of radio waves sarcasm…
There may be no going back to the old Hermanos Rodriguez track, but the 1990 race there was the best GP I’ve ever seen. Action from start to finish.
I’d love the ‘old’ Hermanos Rodriguez circuit to come back as it’s one of the classic tracks from my formative years as a F1 fan. One of my favourites on my trusty Amiga version of Microprose F1GP, too! But if the track is back, it’ll be a badly butchered version of it – and like the ‘new’ Hockenheim, sometimes its best to not make changes if things can’t be as they were. The Monterrey ChampCar track was brilliant too, though – a great layout and a very interesting backdrop/setting of (if I recall correctly) a disused iron foundry? It’s be a great venue for TV at least I think.
As ever, ironing out all the good corners/tracks. Sigh.