BANGKOK – Formula One fans could be treated to the sight of Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton roaring around the steamy streets of Bangkok, with Thailand keen to host a race.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin hosted F1 boss Stefano Domenicali on April 22 to pitch the government’s vision of bringing a grand prix to the sprawling, traffic-clogged Thai capital.
No timeframe or detailed plans have been announced, but Thai officials told local media they envisage the race being run on a street circuit, possibly around the city’s historic centre.
“Thailand has the capacity to host Formula One in Bangkok,” Mr Srettha posted on X after meeting Domenicali, adding that F1 executives were in Bangkok to survey and study the routes for the race.
“If successful, I’m confident that our country will bring impressive memories to others because we have the right potential, capacity and Thai people’s hospitality.”
Mr Srettha’s government is keen to push “soft power” initiatives to raise Thailand’s profile and landing an F1 race would give tourism a lift as the kingdom’s visitor-dependent economy bounces back from the pandemic.
F1 is keen to host more street races. A third of the 24 races scheduled for the 2024 season, which began on March 2, are held on a street or hybrid circuit, compared to around 15 per cent a decade prior.
“Basically, if F1 is going to be held in Thailand, we want it to be held on the roads... we are currently working on the matter,” government spokesman Chai Watcharong told local media.
If the Thailand race does happen, it will be in competition with the Singapore Grand Prix, the only race in South-east Asia on the current calendar.
Since its 2008 debut, the Marina Bay race has attracted more than 550,000 foreign visitors and generated around $2 billion of incremental tourism receipts, according to the Singapore Government.
If Thailand lands the rights to host an F1 race, it could generate about 4 billion baht (S$147 million) in economic value and generate more than 1,000 jobs, said Jakkaphon Tangsutthitham, deputy secretary-general to Mr Srettha.
Vietnam was set to make its F1 debut in 2020 but the inaugural Vietnamese Grand Prix was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and Hanoi has not appeared on the race calendar since.
The country inked a 10-year deal – costing US$60 million a year – with F1 in 2018, betting that the glamour of the sport could reshape Hanoi’s staid image, and reflect the country’s economic lift-off.
But after the 2020 cancellation, the race was dropped from the 2021 calendar when city mayor Nguyen Duc Chung, a major supporter of the grand prix, was arrested.
He was sentenced to 10 years in jail on corruption charges.
AFP, BLOOMBERG
