FORMULA ONE could see new races in Africa according to new CEO Stefano Domenicali.
The Italian revealed that the sport’s owners, Liberty Media, have been approached by interested parties looking to put on races in northern and South Africa.
New chief Stefano Domenicali has confirmed F1 plans to expand the sportCredit: PA:Press Association
World champ Lewis Hamilton has been given a month by Mercedes to agree a new deal, as F1 explores options for making the sport even more globalCredit: PA:Press Association
Domenicali also revealed that F1 are still in negotiations over a race in Miami, with more races in the USA.
He said: “There is a discussion in place with Miami, that is true.
“I can tell you that our strategy for the future is to have more presence in the US with more than one GP.
“Austin has been very important in the last years of our calendar and it will be for the future and we are discussing the renewal of the agreement with them.
“Miami is a place we are looking at and there is big interest from both parties to be there and let’s work together to see if we can confirm that.
“There are other areas that I can tell you have shown interest that is in northern Africa and South Africa.
“This is something that’s very important I think in terms of having new places or old places with heritage back in Formula One.
“We don’t have to forget that we had also lost some European races that now are showing the interest to be considered again.”
F1 will again press ahead with their record-breaking 23-race calendar despite the pandemic.
While the situation remains flexible and the Australian and Chinese GPs have been bumped from their original dates, Domenicali says he is confident that F1 will get their season completed.
‘RIGHT BALANCE’
But he also admitted that with more interest in new races, there needs to be a limit.
He added: “What is going to happen in the future is we need to decide what is the right balance in terms of the number of races.
“What are the areas that we need to strategically invest – for teams, for the interests of broadcasters, for the interests of media, for sponsors’ interests – and decide what will be the right way to go.
“We know that 23 races is at the top end of the scale of what we are doing today.
“If we are doing a good product you may say that if the value is high you may reach the same kind of business without being too numerous in terms of races.
“If you are able to make the right choices, I think that will be the way to go. It may not be in the shortest time but that is the target.”
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
