Where will F1 find its next new race? Every project chasing future deal
Every project planning a new F1 race revealed.
Interest in F1 is booming and, with that, comes renewed interest from prospective hosts looking to cash in on the interest.
It’s a good problem to have for Formula One Management (FOM), the company which manages the commercial elements of the world championship and manages the all-important calendar.
Balancing expansion with tradition: the difficult balance in creating the F1 calendar
Formula One Management derives its income from three primary sources: television rights fees, trackside signage and corporate hospitality, and race promotion fees.
Each contributes roughly a third of the sport’s annual revenue, with hosting fees worth almost $1 billion in 2024.
Hosting fees vary from around $21 million for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix to $55 million for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
While FOM’s primary motivation is to make money for its shareholders, it must walk a delicate tightrope: extract the maximum amount of money possible without alienating the fan base or slowing growth.
That can often create conflict, with long-term fans (and drivers) typically preferring traditional events at historic venues. However, those events are not generally able to contribute to the same level as some of the newer events, where F1 is seen as an economic investment.
Such has been the case in Bahrain, Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, all of which pay handsomely for their place on the grid.
Balancing those newer style events against the sport’s traditional heartland races in Europe, while reaching new audiences in key markets such as China and the United States, is far from trivial.
FOM is limited to a maximum of 24 events. Getting the right mix is critical.
This year, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix hosted its last race as it was unable to meet the escalating hosting fees demanded by the sport. Belgium is in a similar boat, and will switch to an alternating event in the years to come, while the 2026 edition of the Dutch GP will be the last for now.
Fundamentally, finances underpin the demise of each as FOM feels it’s able to increase its income elsewhere. It also can’t continue with low-paying events as it drags down its negotiating power, so in many respects it’s a case of pay up, or miss out.
It’s a position that only carries weight when there are viable alternatives in the market. FOM would be better holding on to a lower-paying event for a year or two rather than dropping a race.
Affording FOM that negotiating leverage at the moment are several projects looking to join (or re-join) the calendar in the coming years, with some vastly more credible than others.
A project aimed at bringing F1 to Bangkok has been given the green light by the Thai cabinet, with $1.3 billion in funding.
Officials have long been in contact with FOM, with Stefano Domenicali visiting the country on multiple occasions, while project officials have been regular visitors in the F1 paddock.
F1 has never raced in Thailand, though it has a strong link with the country courtesy of Red Bull, which is majority Thai-owned, while Alex Albon races under a Thai licence.
A motorsport culture has been emerging in Thailand for some time, with the Buriram circuit hosting MotoGP while racing within the country and the Thailand Super Series rising in notoriety in recent years.
The Bangkok project has proposed a street circuit around the capital, based around Chatuchak Park, according to local reports.
Targeting a place on the F1 calendar for 2028, of the currently known projects, the Thai effort is not only the most advanced but also the most likely to reach fruition.
Once a mainstay of the calendar, F1 last visited in 1993. Since then, multiple efforts have been made to have the country re-join the world championship, all of which have collapsed.
The latest attempt has seen the minister of sports, arts and culture, Gayton McKenzie, open an expression of interest for parties interested in promoting the event.
PlanetF1.com understands three bids were received, including one looking to create an all-new circuit in Cape Town and another, thought to be the more credible of the applications, looking to utilise the Kyalami circuit.
Located in Johannesburg, Kyalami hosted F1 from the 1960s until the 1980s before appearing twice in the early 1990s. the venue is now owned by Toby Venter, who also owns distribution rights to Porsche, Lamborghini, and Bentley (all three owned by the Volkswagen Group) in South Africa.
Announced in June 2025, it was revealed that efforts have gone in to understanding what works would need to be carried out to bring it up to F1 standard.
There is also a commitment to make those improvements should South Africa secure an event at the venue.
“When we acquired Kyalami in 2014, we made a commitment to restore it, not just as a world-class venue, but as a beacon for motorsport across the African continent,” Venter said.
“The FIA’s acceptance of our Grade 1 design is a major step forward in that journey.
“Today, we turn the page to a bold new chapter for Kyalami. We are ready for the return of Formula 1 to African soil.”
While an enticing and romantic idea, the South African effort is not currently considered especially serious given the economic challenges it faces.
An unlikely host, Rwanda emerged as a front-runner to land an F1 race in 2024 with president Paul Kagame announcing as much when the FIA held its general assembly in Kigali.
In 2020, the Rwandan government launched an economic recovery fund aimed at stimulating the tourism and hospitality economy, with $250 million added to that in 2022.
“I’m happy to formally announce that Rwanda is bidding to bring the thrill of racing back to Africa by hosting [a] Formula 1 grand prix,” Kagame said at the time. “A big thank you to Stefano Domenicali and the entire team at Formula 1 for the good progress in our discussions so far.
“I assure you, that we are approaching this opportunity with the seriousness and commitment which it deserves. Together we will build something we can all be proud of.”
The project called for the construction of an all-new permanent circuit near Kigali, coinciding with work to build a hub airport that was in part financed by Qatar Airways. Though construction began in 2017, it’s understood that the runways are still not complete. The airport’s expected opening date has now been pushed back to 2028.
It’s not the only hurdle in Kigali, however. PlanetF1.com understands the project stalled as a result of the conflict between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo when the United Kingdom and Belgium suspended aid to the country.
There are also concerns that there is simply insufficient infrastructure for a Formula 1 event, with a 2022 report revealing scarcely more than 17000 keys across 870 accommodation establishments; a third of those were in one-star or un-rated establishments, and a further quarter boasting only two stars.
It’s estimated that a serious effort to lure F1 to Rwanda could cost over $270 million, a significant investment to boost a tourism sector that generated just $620 million in 2023.
A wildcard in the race to secure an F1 return to African emerged courtesy of Morocco.
Headed by former McLaren boss Eric Boullier, it’s claimed his project is looking to build a circuit capable of hosting both F1 and MotoGP.
It forms part of a broader $1.2 billion project, with developers looking for the final $400 million.
Boullier, whose wife is Moroccan, became involved in 2023 in the project that seeks to develop a site in Tangiers, across the Strait of Gibraltar from the southern tip of Spain and more than 500km north of Marrakesh.
For the moment, it’s been suggested that the effort is something of a red herring and a means of applying pressure on other African events, most notably the South African effort, as momentum there slows.
As it stands, the project does not have the full funding in place, and little more than a concept drawing of a possible circuit should things progress.
Boullier was formerly in charge of the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard, which hosted F1 from 2018 until 2022.
Financial problems saw the event disappear, leaving debts of €32 million ($36.9m) and prompting the Marseille public prosecutor to open an investigation into allegations of favouritism, concealment, and misappropriation of public funds.
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