F1 Racing - UK (2020-01)

F1Racing:This year was the fifth Mexican GP since

it returned to the F1 calendar and it’s been a sell-out

every year. What’s the reason behind that?

Alejandro Soberón:Yes, we have over 350,000

people attending over the three days and we’re very

happy about extending the contract to stay on the

Formula 1 calendar for another threeyear s. We understand

the job of promoting. It’s not just advertising, it’s about

creating a brand and a reason for people to come back

again and again. Welove our race and are excited for people

to say they wantto come back. If they say that, it means

we’ve been successful. If people don’t want tocome back

that means we’ve failed.

F1R:Have you done research into where the spectators have

travelled from to attend your race?

AS:An interesting aspect of the Autódromo Hermanos

Rodríguez is that it’s a city circuit. We’re in the middle of

one of the largest populations in the world. At the same time

it’s convenient for people coming from outside the city. We

see an increasing number of hotel bookings in other places

in Mexico either side of the race. Tourists are visiting the

Mexican Grand Prix and then spending some days in, say,

Cancún.We fi nd that for our race 50% of the ticket holders

come from outside the city, another 35% come from outside

the country, and the rest from the city itself.

F1R:How significant is it to have a Mexican driver

[Sergio Pérez] on the grid, along with the fact that

he’s also committed to F1 for at least another three

years, in line with your deal?

AS:I think it’s always important to have a local

driver, but if you have Ferrari winning, then you’ll see a lot

of Ferrari fans in Mexico. There are a lot of Lewis Hamilton

fans too. ‘Checo’ is not in a car that people are expecting

to win the race, so it’s different to what happens in other

countries. It’s important but not essential because the way

we’ve built this grand prix is more about the experience of

the whole event.

F1R:For four consecutive years you’ve won the FIA’s

Promoter of the Year award. What are you doing differently

t0 make the race so successful?

AS:There are a couple of things. There’s a very special

design with our track and the concept of creating a circuit

that goes through a stadium is oneaspec t – plus the racing

is good here. But it’s the off-track experience where we’re

investing two or three times more than what other circuits

spend, to increase the level of entertainment we provide for

the fans. And we’re always trying to surprisepeople, such as

opening up the podium to a DJ. Our company, CIE, is also

involved in the music business. This year we’ve promoted

25 festivals in Mexico, some with 250,000 people at them,

so we know how to put on a goodeven t.

F1R:How have you been able to finance the race?

AS:The first year nobody really knew if what we were

proposing was going to deliver and it took us a year and

a half to align everybody. Today we have a government

focused on austerity and they’ve closed the tourist board.

We used to spend $300million to advertise the country but

now there’s no budget for that. So, the mayor of Mexico

City took up the challenge to go out and talk to the most

important businessmen in the country to set up afund.

We have then managed a way to sustain it. The private

investors donate and don’t expect a return. They want

the city to have a high profile for our businesses and our

communities. This was a good first link between the new

government and the private sector to work together.

PRO

RACING

02 Business profile

THIS MONTH

Alejandro

Soberón

For the past fourseasons the Mexican Grand Prixhas won the FIA’s

prestigiousPromoterofthe Yearaward.Perhaps moresignificantly, at

a timewhengrand prixattendancesare under scrutiny, everyyearthis

eventhasenjoyed asell-outcrowd –and anew deal hasbeen signedto

keepthe raceonthe calendar for another three years. We speak with the

circuit’s promoterAlejandro Soberón tofind outmore...

INTERVIEW

JAMES

CV ROBERTS

2015 – present

Chiefexecutive

officer, Mexican

Grand Prix, and on

the board of directors

of Grupo Financiero

Banamex, América

Móvil and Instituto

Tecnológico y de

Estudios Superiores

de Monterrey

1990 – present

Founder, chief

executive officer

and president

of Corporación

Interamericana de

Entretenimiento

Pre-1990

Degree in Business

Administration

from Universidad

Iberoamericana,

Mexico City Campus

PORTRAIT

:GLENN DUNBAR

.OT

HER PICTURE

:ZAK MAUGER

30 F1 RACING JANUARY 2020

Chiefexecutive

officer and president,

Corporación

Interamericana de

Entretenimiento

Peréz’s appearance on the grid helps, but isnot essential