Formula One Race Tracks 2027 Onwards

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It is quite interesting to see who is fighting and negotiating for the rights to be part of the calendar hosting Formula One events. The Formula One controlling body wants to grow the sport and have races in as many countries as possible so each region has a representation.

The costs of hosting these races are astronomical and the price negotiated varies anywhere between $32 million and $55 million each year. The tracks who would be joining would be paying the $55 million price tag as that is the new rate.

What is interesting to note is the likes of Barcelona in Spain are out of contract from 2026 and Belgium will fall away in 2028 alternating every second year. The Dutch Grand Prix is set to be removed from 2027 and has left the spot for three new tracks to join the itinerary. Maybe Barcelona will stay and renegotiate a new deal so this is most likely only going to be two slots disappearing. Spain has another race so the chances are if another country is paying the fees then they will also be reduced to one meaning 3 slots every alternative year and two new slots that have to be filled.

The contenders at the front of the queue are Thailand and Portugal as they are being backed by the government which gives the bid a stronger approval rating. The others in the fray are Vietnam and South Africa, but the latter does not have government approval and is not being taken seriously. South Africa is fighting internally with split votes between Kyalami in Johannesburg and a street circuit race in Cape Town. Vietnam for some reason just has lost it's way and may or may not host in the future and would guess with Thailand becoming a definite they would lose out.

The Thailand bid is an interesting one as they have set aside a $1.3 billion budget to make this happen hosting by 2028. This is definitely going to happen and is not an if or a when due to the money on the table. The Thai government sees the advantages of hosting such a big event and what it can do for the economy. According to reports the hosting fee of $55 million has already been signed with the race on a street circuit in Bangkok. The large budget is the spend required to host the event for the first 5 years which includes race design and circuit improvements along with upgrading local facilities and infrastructure.

The government studies believe the race would attract 300K visitors over the weekend which would translate into a predicted spend of 16 billion Baht or roughly $500 million. This would equate to around $50 million generated in taxes and offer in the region of 8000 new jobs whilst boosting the local economy by over $300 million.

These are figures hard to argue with and what a race weekend can do and why it is more than just hosting a race as the money spent is normally retuned via increased revenue and taxes. This is the exact same reason why Portugal and the government are involved as they need this to help boost the tourism in and around the Portimão circuit in the Algarve. The race track already exists and the only reason the track fell away from the calendar was due to not having the funds. The Portimão track can host 100K fans so over the 4 days of testing and racing they could see well over 200K tourists visiting the region. The hosting fee is not significant when you calculate the boost to the economy and tax revenue generated.

This is all about the numbers and what a race weekend can do for the local economy and what taxes can be earned. $50 or $55 million sounds like a significant sum, but when broken down by what each visitor will spend in the country then these figures still say it is very viable. This is why the race tracks need to have the government backing to fund the costs making it possible to remain on the Formula One calendar.

Posted Using INLEO