There are several hurdles that event organisers in Argentina will need to overcome to host Formula 1 for the first time since 1998 in the wake of Franco Colapinto‘s popularity.
With Colapinto’s mid-season emergence on the Grand Prix scene with Williams reigniting a passionate fire among motorsport fans in Argentina, government ministers held a meeting with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
Tourism Minister Daniel Scioli led a delegation including Argentina’s Automobile Federation President Cesar Carman to get the ball rolling with Domenicali.
However, plans to bring F1 back to the Autodromo Oscar y Juan Galvez in Buenos Ares will require a lot of dominoes to fall into place.
“We are starting to work on the possibility of bringing Formula 1 back to Argentina,” Scioli told Motorsport.com.
“Stefano knows Argentina very well, he has the best memories of our country.
“The meeting was very cordial, bearing in mind that we are talking about the organisation of an event that is the most sophisticated in the world in terms of logistics of all kinds.
“There is a lot of hard work to be done in order to reach the objective.
“We have to work on the race track, on all the requirements of an event as sophisticated as this one.”
Moreover, Scioli confirmed that any F1 event in Argentina would need to be privately funded.
This undoubtedly will hinge on whether Colapinto can secure a permanent drive in F1 in the near future.
His presence at Williams has attracted sponsorship from the likes of Mercado Libre, but Colapinto is still searching for a spot on the 2025 grid.
Argentina not alone in attracting F1 interest
Several markets are vying for a place in F1’s 24-race calendar, which Domenicali doesn’t want to expand at the present moment.
There’s interest from Thailand, South Korea, South Africa and Rwanda and the current Concorde agreement won’t let F1 stretch beyond 25 races regardless of Domenicali’s plans to cap the calendar to 24 events.
Such is the evolving interest in F1, Domenicali recently hinted that European races will soon rotate to allow new events to join the Grand Prix circus.
Argentina is proud of Colapinto’s rise to Grand Prix stardom
Whether Argentina succeeds in hosting an F1 race or not remains to be seen, but the interest is clear.
F1’s recent triple-header in the Americas saw 1000s of Argentine fans in the stands supporting Colapinto, who has turned heads upon his rise to F1.
Scioli expressed he is “very proud of what Colapinto is generating as an Argentinian.
“His charisma, his human qualities, his quality as a driver are wonderful.
“At a time when Formula 1 is growing, generating more and more expectations, it is an event that goes beyond sport, with political and social impact.”
READ MORE – Franco Colapinto’s manager adamant Williams will secure his 2025 F1 future
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