IndyCar's likely Mexico race deal might upset F1 warns series insiders

Fox reporter, Kevin Lee, has warned that IndyCar's likely upcoming race deal with Mexico City might upset F1 and Liberty Media and has blamed cheaper tickets and a Mexican driver that has "a great chance of winning" as reasons why.

Conversations between Penske officials and Mexico City have been ongoing since last year with reports that a race in Mexico could be added to the calendar as soon as 2026.

deep in negotiations with advancements in a finalised deal being made, IndyCar reporter Nathan Brown has previously mentioned that Liberty Media has possibly interfered with the negotiations which has slowed them down.

Brown reported that the Mexico City promoter OCESA at first asked for a track deal between 1 million and 1.5million dollars but has since doubled the fee and asked for 12% of ticket sales.

During this period, entertainment company, Live Nation, a subsidiary company of Liberty Media, increased its stake in OCESA from 51% to 71%.

Asked on the Trackside podcast, Lee shared his beliefs on why Liberty Media is seemingly meddling in the IndyCar negotiations which included the suggestion that the American series is seen a big competition for its own ticket sales.

"So you already were dealing with a track that Formula One is their biggest event and now Formula One has a big stake in it.

I don't think they really want IndyCar to do well. I don't think they really want fans in Mexico City to find another option that might be a third or a fourth of the price and might have a Mexican driver that has a great chance of winning the race, unlike F1."

The Mexican driver Lee is referring to is of course Arrow McLaren's Pato O'Ward who was Alex Palou's main championship rival in the closing stages of the 2025 IndyCar season.

One of the biggest advocates for a Mexican IndyCar race, O'Ward has so far won two races in 2025 and has been McLaren's number one driver for several years and has been one of IndyCar's most popular drivers.

Although rumours have begun to spread that Sergio Perez will return to F1 with Cadillac in 2026 alongside Valtteri Bottas, it seems unlikely that the car will be in a winning position for the 2026 season but could bolster the race's popularity again for F1.

Rumours had previously swirled that F1 and Red Bull had been in cahoots about the Mexican driver's contract in 2024 in order to avoid a downturn in ticket sales for the 2024 race.

"We're very confident we'll race in Mexico City in 2026"

Per multiple reports, IndyCar officials were seen visiting Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez last week.

Reported by IndyStar, one Penske Entertainment official told the publication “We’re very confident we’ll race in Mexico City in 2026”.

It is expected that the race will appear in the calendar near the races in the southern half of the USA at the beginning of the year.

Mexico joining the calendar would meant that the series would now hold two races outside of the states but would still only race in North America.

Pressure was put on IndyCar to secure the deal after O'Ward publicly slammed IndyCar last year after NASCAR secured a deal with Mexico City for a 2026 race before the series itself.

"They beat us to the cake", O'Ward previously explained, "strongly believe that we're not only late, but I strongly believe that there isn't more room in Mexico City.

"Not only did they beat us there, but now that is not an option for IndyCar. You need to understand that these people save up their money to go to these events."

Other drivers joined O'Ward in their frustration that IndyCar has not completed the deal with Alex Palou sharing his belief that "everybody is overtaking us".

Palou said: "One-hundred percent, we should have been (in Mexico City). It doesn't make much sense for me. But for Pato, he's been growing, so I think we're like five years too late, and now NASCAR overtakes us."

F1 looks to strangle IndyCar's American audience

It has been no hidden secret that since Liberty Media bought F1 in 2017 it has been on a crusade to conquer the American audience.

Now in 2025, F1 has three races in the USA and produced a hollywood blockbuster film starring Brad Pitt aptly named F1: The Move which has become the highest grossing sports film of all time at box office.

Interest from America in F1 is on the rise; according to Autosport, F1 has currently 52 million F1 fans which is an 10% increase since 2024. Half of those supporters have only started following the series in the last five years.

While IndyCar has seen a uptick in viewers since Fox has taken over coverage from CBS, over 2024 according to Forbes. This year's Indy 500 garnered an audience of 7 million viewers.

This is the highest figures the race has pulled in 17 years with a peak viewership of 8.5 million in the last 15 minutes of the race.

While IndyCar has seen such highs in viewership, it has also suffered in other races such as Road America which saw viewership figures dropping below 1 million.

It is hoped that by becoming slightly more international, even if its still only North America, IndyCar can still build its popularity as it is continued to be cornered by F1.

A deal with Mexico would surely by the next step in securing this and, as Lee rightfully points out, O'Ward can be a big help in securing a larger fanbase in Mexico.