Thailand looks set to take another tentative step towards securing a place on the F1 calendar with a key meeting scheduled for tomorrow (Thursday May 28).

A street race around the Thai capital, Bangkok, has long been teased with officials making appearances at several events as the project continues to build momentum.

Thailand chasing F1 2028 calendar berth

Formula 1 has long looked to the east, with the sport’s former commercial tsar Bernie Ecclestone suggesting it was the future.

Currently, F1 has events in Australia, China, Japan and Singapore, and has previously visited Malaysia.

Vietnam was set to join the calendar for F1 2020 but that event was initially postponed before being cancelled.

An expansion into Thailand is a logical one given the sport already has deep connections there courtesy of Red Bull, which is 51 percent owned by Thai billionaire Chalerm Yoovidhya.

The country has hosted international motorsport with MotoGP racing at the Buriram circuit since 2018.

There has been development in regional competitions too, with the GT World Challenge Asia having grown substantially in recent years and the Thailand Super Series increasing in prominence.

Now, there is an appetite to add Formula 1 to that mix with officials spotted at a number of events already this season, including the Australian and Monaco grands prix.

After the season-opener in Melbourne, Formula One Management boss Stefano Domenicali travelled to Thailand to meet with officials to discuss the potential for an event.

Since then work has progressed with a meeting of the Cabinet in Thailand set to discuss the project tomorrow.

It is not expected that Thailand will join the calendar imminently, with an F1 2028 debut most likely.

That coincides with the expiration of other events, with the current Spanish Grand Prix contract due to elapse following the F1 2026 event.

Azerbaijan is in the same boat yet while Spain is expected to disappear from the calendar, Baku is likely to remain.

The same is true for the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas.

Elsewhere, Austria only has a deal for two years beyond the current season while officials in the Netherlands have confirmed they will not continue beyond the current agreement, which expires after next year’s event.

There are changes too for Belgium, with the iconic Spa-Francorchamps circuit set to switch to a rotating place on the schedule, leaving it absent for F1 2028 and 2030.

Madrid by contrast will join the calendar next year, taking the place left behind by the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

More on the F1 event contracts from PlanetF1.com

👉 Seven F1 tracks that deserve a place on the calendar forever

👉 Miami Grand Prix here to stay as massive calendar extension signed

The F1 calendar is limited to a maximum of 24 races under the Concorde Agreement, with the addition of a Thai event therefore coming at the expense of another.

Of the events approaching the end of their existing contract without a confirmed future, the Austrian Grand Prix is thought to be a candidate to join Belgium in rotating on and off the schedule.

That would free up a potential berth for Thailand, as will the demise of Zandvoort, though both coming a year early in F1 2027.

Thailand isn’t the only country to have expressed an interest in F1, with efforts being made in Rwanda and South Africa.

In Rwanda, the project comes as part of a push to grow the tourism economy within the country. F1 partner Qatar Airways has taken a 60 percent stake in the construction of a new hub airport in the nation’s capital, Kigali.

It’s thought a Rwandan Grand Prix would be used to boost awareness for the African nation and increase patronage at the new facility, with the first phase expected to open in 2028, ahead of completion in 2032.

Efforts in South Africa also have seen progress, with two projects pitching for support; one in Cape Town around a 5.7km Tilke-designed circuit, and another at Kyalami, which last hosted F1 in 1993.

Of the three potential candidates, it is thought the Thailand GP project is the most advanced with talk of an African addition having cooled in recent months.

Read more: Iconic venue returns to host F1 2026 season opener as calendar takes shape