FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is on a mission to extend Formula 1’s reach as far around the globe as possible.
The Formula 1 calendar is unlikely to expand beyond the current 24 Grand Prix weekends schedule, but where those races are held is likely to change every year from now on.
The 2025 season will see the Australian Grand Prix take over hosting the opening race from Bahrain before the Madrid Grand Prix makes its debut the following year.
Next season will be the last time Zandvoort appears permanently on the calendar, while Imola could be dropped before the start of the 2026 campaign.
The F1 calendar used to be very European-centric but there’s now a clear shift towards the sport covering the globe.
There are four races in the Middle East, three in the USA and growing clamour for more Grand Prix in Asia, with Thailand pushing hard to host an F1 street race.
Ben Sulayem was speaking on Carburando’s YouTube channel during the Dakar Rally about the potential return to the Argentine Grand Prix.
F1 has always been popular in Argentina, with the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio hailing from the country and Carlos Reutemann a star of the sport in the 1970s and 80s.
Franco Colapinto is Argentina’s latest star and has just moved to Alpinem creating another boom in popularity, leading to calls for the Argentine Grand Prix to return to the calendar.
Ben Sulayem has explained that while it’s ‘possible’, there’s one issue currently making a return unlikely.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem says the Argentine Grand Prix unlikely to return due to the economy
Ben Sulayem was asked if there’s a possibility of Formula 1 returning to Argentina in the future and said: “It is possible, now, it’s going to Africa.
“It’s good to see, for example, in the Middle East, there are four [races] when that was a dream.
“I remember one time someone said to me, never even think that Formula 1 will come to your area, not your country and he said to me, never even think there will be a president like you or anyone from this country.
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“It’s amazing how the world changes. So, Argentina is not new, as I say, because of [Juan Manuel] Fangio and [have hosted] a Grand Prix.
“But to make a proper championship, you have to have not only the manufacturers, but you have to have the continents.
“We are reaching to Africa, but the number [of races] has to stay the same hopefully, but the selection has to be there.
“Our windows are very tight, and it is also the commercial side but I can’t see any issue, it is to do with the economy.”
Formula 1 has difficult calendar decisions to make with Argentine Grand Prix keen to return
In a perfect world, F1 would have a calendar similar to that of NASCAR where they’re able to travel between circuits every weekend, allowing all the venues that want to host a Grand Prix to get in on the action.
However, the worldwide appeal of Formula 1 means that the 24-race calendar is already putting a huge strain on drivers, team personnel and the circus that surrounds the sport and are required to negotiate every triple-header.
Max Verstappen warned the schedule would make people sick and towards the end of the season, this impacted Kevin Magnussen, Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg who missed media days or complete race weekends at the end of the 2024 campaign.
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If Colapinto ends up replacing Doohan at Alpine and establishing himself in the F1 paddock, then returning to Argentina would make sense for the sport given how engaged his fanbase is.
However, he’s not yet in a position to make that claim and with Formula 1 becoming more lucrative, returning to a country with economic issues may not appeal to the sport when they could sign contracts with other countries with a higher guaranteed income.
Formula 1 is going to look very different in a few years and it will be fascinating to see if Argentina can return to the calendar for the first time since 1998 when Michael Schumacher won the race.
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