F1 News: Thailand, So. Korea & Indonesia eye spot on F1 calendar

A Formula 1 race in South East Asia is increasingly likely – with Thailand, South Korea and Indonesia jockeying for one open spot on the F1 calendar.

The F1 calendar in one race short of the maximum 25 allowed per year by the Concorde Agreement. And many countries want a race.

Speaking at an F1 in Depth event in Monaco on Thursday night, which was co-hosted by Autosport Business, Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei said,

“We’re lucky that we were able to get a Chinese race this year after four years,” he said. “It was very successful. The interest in China has exploded in part because we now have a Chinese driver.

“Critically, you see cultural identity so much when you have drivers from a country, and when you have teams from a country. And so that’s been great to see the growth in China.

“But there’s a lot of interest across Asia, as we have interest from many cities. But in Asia, as you rightly point out: Thailand, Seoul, and we’ve had interest from Indonesia. There are lots of places which want a Formula 1 race.

Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok delivering a letter of intent to F1 CEo Stefano Domenicali to hold the F1 Incheon Grand Prix

“We have really looked at the intersection of where our fans are, where they could be, who could run a great race, and who can frankly afford a race – and all those sorts of intersections of those three circles.

“I think you could very easily see a second one in Southeast Asia [alongside China].”

So which one will snag the remaining spot on the F1 calendar – South Korea already signed an LOI, Thailand is very interested and Indonesia is out there.