The Formula 1 party in Mexico City: "We are not fifís, there are no social classes here"

Mexican fans await the Red Bull drivers in the garages of the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.NurPhoto (NurPhoto via Getty Images)

The word purrs around the racetrack.

Fifi.

The RAE defines her as a "presumptuous person who is in charge of following fashions".

In Mexico, however, it has gained a pejorative charge to refer to the upper classes.

So going to the Formula 1 Grand Prix in the Mexican capital is synonymous with opulence.

Or maybe not so much.

Carlos Rosas, an employee at a telecommunications company, has attended every Mexican race since 2015. Each year he sets aside about 13,600 pesos (about $600) from his finances to pay for tickets to the Mexican race.

“Someone can say that it is very expensive, but here you are from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. in three days.

There are people who pay to go see Justin Bieber for two hours, here it is all day”, says Carlos Rosas, with a construction helmet adapted to the rear spoiler of Checo Pérez's car, “he has had some falls due to drunkenness” , tells about his peculiar hat.

A few days before the start of the Grand Prix, the head of the Government of Mexico City, Claudia Sheinbaum, had said that "Formula 1 is quite fifi" due to the high cost of tickets.

Three days later, she didn't mention the word again, but she did mention that the tickets were very high.

In addition, she offered 2,500 of them to give away to children.

And, as a way to win him over, Pérez gave him one of his helmets.

“Here it is conviviality, the moment to be with friends and family”, he adds.

He is accompanied by his wife, Gabriela, and his son Iker.

All dressed in honor of Red Bull.

“Formula 1 is not fifi, those who say that don't know anything about Formula 1. Of course it's expensive, but when football tickets, like the finals or the World Cup, are very expensive, nobody says anything.

I fell in love with Formula 1 because of my uncles, in the 90s, they followed Formula 1 a lot, especially because of Ayrton Senna”, says Iván Salgado, business professor.

Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari driver, signs autographs in the exclusive area of ​​the Paddock, at the Mexican Grand Prix. AFP7 via Europa Press (AFP7 via Europa Press)

Diego Torres, 25, is studying international business.

He paid about 17,000 pesos (860 dollars) to enter the

, a moment in which the fans can approach the garages of the teams and see the pilots a little up close.

“It is misclassified that this Formula 1 is pure rich.

Here we are not fifís, we are all one and there is no social class here, ”he mentions.

Although there are tickets that are worth gold, like Jaime Pedraza, GarantiPLUS businessman, focused on the automotive world.

“The cost of the Paddock Club pass [close to the garages and the most exclusive access] cost me 6,000 dollars (about 118,000 pesos).

They are accesses that are sold for corporate purposes.

The companies use them as incentives for their clients, the teams, the brands.

We brought customers to reward them for their loyalty, ”he says as he stands vigil for the pilots to sign one of the four hats he wears.

It already presumes to have the signature of the Red Bull team boss, Christian Horner, and the Spanish Carlos Sainz.

He's been attending since 2015 and can pretty much trade autographs he's gotten.

“That fifi thing is a cliché.

There are people of all levels, there is something for everyone.

We are here right now, I think a large part of the Gross Domestic Product, this is to promote Mexico,” adds Pedraza.

“For me it is fifi because of the cost of the tickets and the type of people.

The price of clothes, meals, was something I already expected.

Each ticket cost us 300 dollars,” says María Pérez, 28, who traveled from Guatemala City to central Mexico.

"With all the problems that the world has and coming to a place like this... The truth is that it is a bit superfluous, but there is joy here," says Isabela Castro.

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