‘I had 40,000 Fans Screaming My Name’

Back then, the Monterrey-born racer was in Haas overalls, about to take his maiden F1 start in his homeland, in front of his adoring compatriots in the stands.

“There was a moment before the race on the drivers’ parade, the promoter had organised an interview for the Mexican drivers,” recalls Esteban.

“It was in the Foro Sol [Stadium section] and I remember when I jumped out of the car to do the talk, I put my hand up to say hello and the whole crowd stood up and 40,000 people started screaming my name.

“That incredible energy was something I had never experienced before. The vibe and the feeling of that moment is something I will never forget.

“There have been other special moments for me, but certainly getting to share that one with the fans and the people of Mexico in our home country was something very special.”

F1 had returned to the Mexico a year prior in 2015, and while Esteban could only watch on from the sidelines as Ferrari’s test and reserve driver that season, there was perhaps a satisfaction that he had played his part in helping the pinnacle of motorsport return to his homeland for the first time since 1992.

Together with compatriot Sergio [Checo] Perez – who’s F1 career had started a few years earlier in 2012 – Esteban had been involved in the initial conversations when talks about F1 returning to Mexico gathered pace.

“The sport became big when both Checo and I started racing and reached Formula One, and it was always a dream for us to think that there could be a race in Mexico,” says Esteban.

“I remember some talks there was a meeting that happened between OMDAI [The Mexican representatives of the FIA], the FIA and the promoters, as well as some sponsors who wanted to involve both Checo and I in the conversation.”

When the news broke, there were mixed emotions for Esteban.

“I was always thinking about racing and focusing on that, but I was always engaged in the conversation with the key players who were making everything happen,” he says.

“When it was announced I was not going to be racing that season [2015] I was a little disappointed, but I remember arriving at the track for the first time and realising it was actually going to be huge.

“The vibe, the people and the atmosphere were amazing, so when I got to race the following year in 2016 it was very special.”

Esteban is too young to remember F1 in Mexico at the start of the 1990s, despite the best efforts of video footage of those races, so it was much later into his racing career before F1 began to appear on the horizon.

The 34-year-old’s first real F1 memory came across the border at Indianapolis at the 2007 United States Grand Prix, racing in the Formula BMW [equivalent to Formula 4 today] support series race.

The championship would also give Esteban his first taste of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.

“They were organising the World Final in 2008. I had won the title that year, and Mario Theissen [former BMW Motorsport Director] asked me my opinion on where we could hold the final.

“I told him I would only race in the event if it was in Mexico!”

This year marks 10 years since F1 returned to Mexico City in 2015, and few races on the current calendar leave their own indomitable style on the F1 paddock like the atmosphere produced annually at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez.

“There are a lot of cultural aspects embedded into the F1 weekend,” says Esteban,

“We have the food, the art, the culture and the El Dia de Muertos [Day of the Dead] that dresses the event in a different way to other races.

“The fans are so energetic, and you are welcomed wherever you are from.

“I remember Nico and Lewis saying that when they won in Mexico everyone was chanting for them – and it’s those little aspects that make the Mexico City GP so special.”

That is what Mexico brings to F1. But what does F1 bring to Mexico?

“In short, an incredible event. And a huge economic impact, in terms of the tourists coming to Mexico staying in the hotels and eating in the restaurants,” says Esteban.

“The fact that Formula 1 is a brand that has grown immensely is also very important for Mexico.

“Regardless of whether there is a Mexican driver racing or not, the fans already love the sport, and it will remain important for many, many years to come.”