Mexican Grand Prix organisers and the Mexico City mayor have announced that a contract which will keep the race on the Formula 1 calendar will be imminently signed.

The Mexican Grand Prix was one of five rounds coming off-contract at the end of the season and had, until recently, been considered likely to be cut due to a loss of city funding.

It now appears to have earned a reprieve by attracting private backing.

“I want to share some good news that I just received,” said Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.

“Formula 1 is staying in Mexico City. The FIA president is going to be here tomorrow to sign it. This is good news for the city.

“I also want to tell you that this is thanks to a group of businessmen who made this possible because this time the city is not using any public funds.

“It’s good news for the city. It brings tourism, it brings income, and it’s also good for the country.”

The event’s Twitter page also proclaimed: “The City of Mexico’s #FIESTA will continue!

“Thanks for being the best fans on the planet. Stay tuned on our social channels tomorrow to know all the details.”

Should Mexico indeed keep a spot on the calendar, such a development would square with reports that the season will in fact grow to 22 grands prix despite F1 CEO Chase Carey’s earlier suggestions to the contrary.

That rumour gained traction in Spanish media when the Catalan government gave permission to the company which owns the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya to sign a new contract with F1 owners Liberty Media.

The Spanish Grand Prix had also been regarded as likely to drop.

With the British Racing Drivers’ Club having agreed a new deal to host F1 at Silverstone and Italy’s governing body confident of an extension for Monza, it appears that the German Grand Prix will not take place next year.

The returning Zandvoort and a brand-new race in Hanoi, Vietnam are set to make next season the longest in F1 history.