With Formula 1’s popularity skyrocketing around the globe, more and more countries have been formally expressing their interest to host a race — yet the F1 calendar can’t accommodate all of them.

We’re looking at six of the most recent countries rumoured to join the F1 calendar and ranking them by their likelihood of joining the calendar.

1. Thai Grand Prix

Following a visit by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, the Thai government approved a $1.2 billion bid to host a street race in Bangkok beginning in 2028. While that doesn’t guarantee a race will happen, it’s certainly much closer to fruition than many other venues on this list.

The Thai government has approved a 5.7-kilometre circuit that circles Chatuchak park and is located across from a train station for easy access, while entities like Red Bull Thailand are understood to be keen to make this event happen.

There are indeed some potential points of hesitation here, including a border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia and the required circuit homologation approval from the FIA. However, the bid is moving in the right direction.

It also remains the most likely bid from Southeast Asia, where the likes of South Korea and Indonesia have also expressed interest in hosting events.

2. Portuguese Grand Prix

When the COVID-19 pandemic threw the 2020 calendar into chaos, Portugal was there to offer its services to Formula 1 and flesh out the season. The event visited Algarve for two years, but the addition of higher-profile events such as the Miami and Las Vegas Grands Prix meant that Portugal had little to offer F1 in terms of prestige.

But the return of MotoGP — a series that shares Liberty Media as an owner with F1 — to Algarve means the venue remains in good condition. Further, Portuguese prime minister Luis Montenegro confirmed that the government is willing to step in to provide financial assistance to the race. According to him, Algarve is prepared to return to F1 as early as 2027 — the soonest of any event listed here – though sources at PlanetF1.com have suggested that, while an interesting potential, it is not being taken especially seriously at this point.

3. German Grand Prix

While F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali expressed a desire to speak with organisers of the German Grand Prix in hopes of re-establishing a race in the country, it seems highly unlikely that this could happen.

Both of Germany’s FIA Grade 1 circuits — Nurburgring and Hockenheim — would need ample upgrades in order to once again be fit for hosting the major spectacle that is an F1 event, and the funds to enact those changes are hard to come by.

Further, the FIA and Formula 1 request multi-million dollar sanctioning fees from each venue looking to earn a permanent spot on the schedule. If money is short for upgrades, it follows that money would also be short for sanctioning fees.

Sadly, a return of the German Grand Prix remains extremely unlikely, despite a desire to retain a strong presence in the sport’s European heartland.

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4. Argentine Grand Prix

With Argentina making a return to the MotoGP calendar for the first time in over 30 years, and with hometown hero Franco Colapinto currently racing in Formula 1, there’s some major interest in the country hosting its first Grand Prix since 1998.

Buenos Aires mayor Jorge Macri stated that “this is the first step toward applying again to host Formula 1” when announcing MotoGP’s return to the Oscar and Juan Galvez circuit, which is currently undergoing a major overhaul of the track, pits, paddock, and safety features in order to bring professional motorsport back within its borders.

That being said, this is not a formal expression of interest, nor is it a guarantee of an event. It is, however, a move in the right direction.

5. South African Grand Prix

South Africa has been F1’s primary home in the continent of Africa for decades, and a return to the Kyalami circuit seems to be gaining ground every day.

The FIA has approved plans to upgrade Kyalami into a Grade 1 circuit, which increases its likelihood of hosting a Grand Prix in the future.

However, as PlanetF1.com has pointed out, “selected works will be actioned pending the successful outcome of South Africa’s place on the Formula 1 calendar and Kyalami being selected as the preferred hosting venue.”

Effectively, that means that Kyalami has proposed upgrades worthy of F1, but it will not begin until (indeed, if) it has a guarantee from F1 that the South African track will host a race.

However, it’s not a project that is being taken seriously by those in F1, sources having described the project as ‘chaotic’ and ‘lacking substance’ to PlanetF1.com. Chief among concerns is the lack of financial support from the government.

There is a second project attempting to lure F1 to South Africa too, which enjoys even less support from the government than the Kyalami bid. PlanetF1.com has seen documents surrounding a Cape Town project, the chances of which succeeding appear even more remote.

6. Rwanda / African Grand Prix

When it comes to global expansion, Africa remains one of the final unexplored frontiers for Formula 1. The South African Grand Prix was a staple on the calendar for ages, but there’s a growing recognition that other countries in the African continent are hungry for an event.

Rwanda was one such country. The FIA hosted its 2024 prize-giving gala in Kigali, Rwanda at the close of the season, during which time Rwandan president Paul Kagame stated that he had formally expressed interest to the FIA in hosting a Formula 1 race.

The announcement clarified that the country would build a “new track planned close to the new Bugesera airport”, and that several drivers were involved in constructing the layout.

However, Stefano Domenicali admitted that there are “still things missing” from Rwanda’s bid, and ongoing conflicts in the Democratic Republic of Congo has seen the DRC lay blame partially at Rwanda’s feet. That looks to have torpedoed plans for a race for the time being.

There have been similar murmurings out of Nigeria too, which has sent a letter expressing its interest in hosting a race to Formula One Management, but that is the extent of its progress thus far.

 

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