There is a huge motorsports scene in Mexico and it’s only getting better. NASCAR only recently announced its first Cup Series race in Mexico City at the famous Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez circuit. But a reason that the circuit is famous is for its Formula 1 races. Daniel Suarez has been the happiest to see that there will be a Cup Series race in his home country, and he has been very vocal about his excitement. Pato O’Ward emerges as a name that has always wanted to move IndyCar to Mexico. Despite his attempts, he was shut down by the CEO of IndyCar, Mark Miles, as the 70-year-old said that the series is not popular enough in Mexico to fill a stadium!

Mark Miles faces a lot of criticism for his words, “I will say it’s pretty clear that Pato isn’t as famous as the last previously famous Mexican driver [Adrian Fernandez].” He believes that NASCAR has more of a following in Mexico. However, when Daniel Suarez was asked about IndyCar’s star driver O’Ward’s popularity, he proved the CEO wrong with his reasoning.

An initially confused Daniel Suarez explains the popularity of drivers in Mexico

Ahead of the first race in the playoffs, Peter Stratta caught up with Daniel Suarez and had a few questions. Stratta had a direct question ready for Suarez, as he asked, “How famous is Pato O’Ward in Mexico?” Now, one thing to remember is that Pato O’Ward recently drove on the same team as Kyle Larson, “the best driver in the world,” at the Indianapolis 500. To add a cherry on top, O’Ward finished 2nd.

Daniel Suarez seemed confused with the question and said, “I mean, this is hard; it’s hard to answer that question. To be honest, I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know where you’re going with that question.” When Stratta clarified that he ‘just’ wanted to know how popular Pato is in Mexico and the question had no other meaning, Suarez replied, “I think he is as popular as me, not as popular as Checo Perez.” Putting Pato at the same popularity as himself, Suarez explains the driver fandom in Mexico.

Although Daniel Suarez put Pato O’Ward in the same popularity as himself, Checo Perez was put on another level. The rest of this interview showed just how big a Checo fan Mexico is and how fans see the Red Bull F1 driver.

Suarez crowns Perez ‘the leader’ of the Mexico drivers!

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Once Checo Perez was uttered from Suarez’s mouth, the confusion went away. He did not stop for a second before saying, “I think Checo Perez definitely, he’s the one that is leading the group, you know, and with having a lot of Formula One races in Mexico; he’s been doing an amazing job.” NASCAR and IndyCar don’t race in Mexico, so having a native driver in those sports doesn’t come with the natural love that other drivers get.

With F1 in Mexico being a yearly event, fans have more to connect with. They get to see their icon drive in their circuit, and Checo is already a veteran. Adding to this, Suarez continued to speak about Checo, saying, “He’s definitely the leader of the Mexican drivers that are doing good things internationally.”

With this, we understand Mexican driver fandom from Daniel Suarez’s side. But who’s to say that Pato O’Ward isn’t many fans’ favorite driver? It is all an opinion, and we would love to hear yours. Let us know which Mexican driver you like the most in the comments below.