Thai Cabinet approves US$1.2 billion bid to host Formula 1 race in 2028

If successful, the Thai capital would win a contract to host a race each year from 2028 to 2032. PHOTO: REUTERS

UPDATED Jun 17, 2025, 04:14 PM

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BANGKOK – Thailand's Cabinet has approved a US$1.2 billion (S$1.5 billion) bid to host a Formula One street race in its capital Bangkok in 2028, government officials said on June 17.

If successful, the Thai capital would win a contract to host a race each year from 2028 to 2032, government spokesperson Jirayu Houngsub told a news conference.

“In the next two to three years, Thailand will have world-class competition, which we never thought would actually happen in Thailand,” Jirayu said.

“The Cabinet has given the green light for Thailand to submit its proposal to host the Formula One race. A budget of 40 billion baht has been allocated, and a working group will be formed to study the logistics and feasibility.”

Tourism Minister Sorawong Thienthong also told reporters the bid is worth about 40 billion baht (US$1.23 billion), in line with what Jirayu said.

In March, Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra met with Formula One chief executive Stefano Domenicali in Monaco and said that Thailand would commission a feasibility study into hosting a Grand Prix on a Bangkok street circuit from 2028.

Hosting the race will help promote tourism, a key driver of Thailand's economy, the government has said.

The layout of the potential circuit has not been revealed but Jirayu said it could include an area near Chatuchak market in the north of the city, which is a magnet for tourists every weekend.

The government has touted the idea of a “sustainable” race and said the grand prix could benefit the kingdom to the tune of US$600 million.

Formula One already has a crowded schedule of 24 races around the world with four in the Asia-Pacific region, including the Singapore Grand Prix at the Marina Bay circuit in South-east Asia.

Thailand has an FIA-accredited track in Buriram in the north-east of the country, which currently hosts a round of the MotoGP motorcycling world championships, but the proposal is understood to be solely for a street race in the kingdom's capital.

Ms Paetongtarn had previously said on social media following the talks with Domenicali: “Thailand sees the opportunity to host a Formula One Grand Prix in the future as a key initiative to elevate our profile as a hub for international tourism and global events.”

Thailand has representation on track via Thai driver Alexander Albon of Williams, who is eighth in the drivers’ standings on 42 points.

Neighbouring 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 GP, was arrested.

In January 2024, it was reported that Malaysia’s state oil company Petronas was looking to bring back F1 races to the country in 2026 after a nine-year hiatus.

Malaysia hosted a grand prix at its Sepang International Circuit from 1999, but staged its last race in 2017 due to declining ticket sales and rising costs.

In other news, Ferrari blamed a groundhog strike for wrecking Lewis Hamilton’s Canadian Grand Prix over the weekend, with the seven-time world champion saying he was devastated to have killed the animal.

Hamilton finished sixth at Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, one place behind teammate Charles Leclerc.

Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur confirmed Hamilton’s car had hit a groundhog after about eight or nine laps and suffered floor damage equating to about 20 points of downforce, or half a second a lap.

Hamilton, a vegan and the sport’s most successful driver of all time, was more upset.

“I didn’t see it happen but I heard I hit a groundhog,” he said. “That’s devastating because I love animals and I’m so sad about it. That’s horrible. It’s never happened to me before.”

Groundhogs are a regular hazard at the Montreal track, which is on an artificial island in the Saint Lawrence Seaway. REUTERS, AFP

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