The next city eyeing F1 street race as Madrid snatches Spanish GP from Barcelona

24 January 2024 , 16:07

1126     0

Madrid was this week announced as the host city of the next new annual F1 event (Image: Getty Images)

The dust has barely even begun to settle after a new Formula 1 street race was announced in Madrid.

Yet, speculation has already moved on to where the next annual event may be created. F1 continues to grow and change to cater to the huge worldwide audience it can now tap into, and the money-making opportunities mean more cities than ever are keen to get their own slice of the pie.

The trend is obvious - traditional racing circuits are going the way of the dodo bird in favour of new tracks in lucrative locations. The creation of Grands Prix in Las Vegas and Jeddah are examples.

F1 chiefs point out that moving the Spanish Grand Prix to Madrid will make the event more sustainable. The fact organisers in the Spanish capital are willing to pay up to twice as much as the annual fee extracted from the Circuit de Catalunya also no doubt went some way to sweeten the deal.

But now that is agreed, focus switches to where else might be the next venue. And a slightly left-field option has emerged in the form of Osaka, Japan's third most populous city.

Sebastian Vettel warns of looming F1 ban and is "very worried about the future"

Speaking to Motorsport.com, a representative of the city's tourism bureau explained why it is interested in joining the F1 circus. Central to their plans, he explained, is to make a Grand Prix in the city and even which will attract visitors from around the globe.

"F1 will be the perfect catalyst for Osaka to become an international tourist city," they said. "In order for Osaka to achieve that, it is important to attract wealthy people from Europe, America, and Australia.

"We also believe that F1 will be the perfect catalyst for attracting luxury hotels and revitalizing the night-time economy. I went to watch the Singapore Grand Prix, and it was completely different from the image I had of F1. There were live events going on, and there were business meetings for luxury brands at nearby hotels."

So far, there have been no formal negotiations with F1 chiefs over a potential race in Osaka. It has also not yet been decided whether the proposed event would be a street race or if it would take place on a specific circuit that would have to be constructed in or close to the city.

As Madrid has snatched the Spanish Grand Prix away from the Circuit de Catalunya, talk of a new Japanese event will raise concerns over Suzuka's place on the F1 calendar. The much-loved historic circuit has, other than a brief two-year switch to Fuji in 2007-08, hosted the Japanese GP since 1987.

Daniel Moxon