After Las Vegas, F1 boss drops a big expansion tease, confirming ‘discussions’ on a potential Bangkok debut

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali confirmed his meeting with Thailand Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra to discuss a potential Formula 1 Grand Prix in Bangkok. The race, if confirmed, could potentially be held on a street circuit.

The sport has witnessed a surge in popularity all across the world in the last few years. New Grand Prix venues including Miami, Las Vegas, and countries in the Middle East like Saudi Arabia have been introduced quite recently. With the increasing interest and the economic value F1 brings, there are more untouched venues that the sport is planning to take on.

Stefano Domenicali recently revealed his meeting with the Prime Minister of Thailand, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, to discuss about a race in the country's capital, Bangkok. He mentioned that he would continue the talks in the coming time.

"I was delighted to meet with Paetongtarn Shinawatra, the Prime Minster of Thailand, and her team today to discuss their impressive plans to host a race in Bangkok. I am looking forward to continuing our discussions in the weeks and months ahead."

Thailand is a popular spot for motorsports especially with MotoGP holding a race at the Chang International Circuit in Isan. It is an FIA Grade 1 circuit designed by Hermann Tilke, who is largely credited with designs of some popular circuits including the likes of Saudi Arabia, Yas Marina, and the Circuit of The Americas.

However, this would likely not be the host for the potential F1 race. Considering Bangkok, there's a large possibility that it would be held on another street circuit.

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Domenicali confirms interest from Africa and South America to host F1 races

F1 was quite widespread a few decades back with races being hosted in South Africa and Argentina. However, that idea seems far-fetched for now. There were rumors earlier that the African Grand Prix organizers wanted to host the race once again, but there hasn't been any development regarding the same. Moreover, with 24 races already fitted in the calendar, it is difficult to have multiple venues added in the same year.

Despite the circumstances, Stefano Domenicali earlier confirmed that there are African and South American countries who are interested in hosting F1 in the coming years. He also revealed his plans to meet the Thailand representatives at the time.

"I think the good thing that we were able to do in the last couple of years is focus on the places that we do believe represent the future for Formula 1," he told Sky in Melbourne.

"We receive a lot of attention from other places in the world. By the way, I’m just finishing the race here in Melbourne, I'm going to Bangkok - there is a potential interest from the government to develop something there. We have other places in Europe, and as you know there are interests in Africa, there are interests in South America now," he added.

F1 has a wide market to capture in the coming years. While it is difficult to fit more countries into a single-year calendar, other ideas such as holding races alternatively (something that will be followed for Spa-Francorchamps, omitting the races in 2028 and 2030) could help the sport to expand to more countries and venues.