F1 Calendar: Montreal Under Pressure From Thai GP Bid
May 27 – Thailand seems to be racing at full speed towards Formula 1’s 2028 calendar.
A potential race on the streets of Bangkok has been in the works for months, with plans becoming ever more concrete since F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali headed straight from the season opener in Melbourne for talks with Thai PM Paetongtarn Shinawatra.
Another sign of rapid progress was F1’s British-born Thai driver Alex Albon jetting into the country in early April, also to meet with the prime minister.
“We’re making progress,” the Williams driver said, “even if nothing is finalised yet.”
Last weekend in Monaco, PM Shinawatra was spotted with Albon in the Williams garage, even trying on the cockpit for size. She later posed for photos with Domenicali and other top F1 figures, admitting that the plans took a “big step forward” in the Principality.
SID news agency quoted Thai government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub as confirming that Thailand intends to make its Formula 1 race debut in 2028.
“A bid and feasibility proposal will be presented to the Thai cabinet for approval next week,” the German outlet added.
And on the social media channels of the Thai government, it was stated that PM Shinawatra “highlighted F1’s 600 million global viewers and potential economic boost through tourism and infrastructure investment”.
The current F1 calendar sits at a bustling 24 races, and both Liberty Media and the teams agree that it cannot currently handle a 25th race.
However, European events like Imola and Barcelona are in severe doubt for the future, F1 is instigating plans to annually rotate some events, and dark clouds have moved above the future of the Canadian GP in Montreal.
In its story reporting the latest developments for a Thai GP, Le Journal de Montreal noted: “We reported this month that negotiations regarding an extension of the agreement between F1 and local (Canadian) promoters are at a standstill.”
“The Thai threat is becoming clearer,” the Montreal-based newspaper’s headline declared.
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Imola & Montmelo are definitely under threat against the relatively lucrative non-European locations, meaning that bi-annual hosting is realistically their only way of hosting F1 in the long-term or, in Imola’s case, regarding any possible post-2026 return.
I don’t think Montreal is in actual doubt in the end.
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