Why is the Mexico F1 race named after the city and not the country?

Formula 1 returns to the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez this week for round 19 of the season, but the race on the calendar carries a name that puzzles some fans: the Mexico City Grand Prix, not the Mexican Grand Prix.

The circuit's F1 history stretches back to 1963, when it ran under its original name, the Magdalena Mixhuca circuit, hosting races until 1970 before being dropped largely over crowd-control and spectator safety failures. 

Renamed for brothers Ricardo and Pedro Rodriguez, the track returned to the calendar between 1986 and 1992, only to fall away again as the surface deteriorated and funding dried up.

The modern era began in 2015, built on a five-year deal fronted by Mexican promoter CIE alongside Formula One Management. 

Around $360 million in public and private investment rebuilt the circuit and its surrounding infrastructure, with Hermann Tilke overseeing a redesign that rerouted the old banked Peraltada corner through the Foro Sol baseball stadium. 

The presence of Sergio Perez and Esteban Gutierrez on the grid at the time gave the project commercial momentum domestically.

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The shift to the Mexico City GP

That original contract expired in 2019, and Mexican president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador declined to renew federal funding, reportedly to redirect public money toward infrastructure projects such as the Tren Maya railway. 

The race's survival fell to Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum, who put together a private trust backed by local business leaders, removing the need for federal money altogether.

It was that shift in who was actually bankrolling the event, from national government to the capital's own administration, that led to the rebrand. 

From 2021 onward, following the cancelled 2020 edition during the pandemic, the race was officially renamed the Mexico City Grand Prix, reflecting the local government's role as the event's backer and promoting the capital's profile rather than the country's.

The practice has precedent elsewhere on the calendar. Countries hosting more than one round, or wanting to spotlight a specific host rather than a whole nation, have long used city, regional or geographic names instead of straightforward national titles.

Examples include Miami and Las Vegas in the United States and the Sao Paulo Grand Prix, which will follow Mexico City on the calendar next week.