THAI GRAND PRIX IN DISCUSSIONS, SAYS F1 CHIEF DOMENICALI

SHANGHAI, March 22 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- Formula One (F1) President and Chief Executive Officer Stefano Domenicali has revealed advanced discussions with Thailand to host a Grand Prix, signalling the sport's ambition to increase its Asian footprint while balancing a "quality over quantity" approach to its booming calendar.

Speaking exclusively to Xinhua during the 2025 Chinese Grand Prix weekend, Domenicali confirmed that Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra had expressed "strong interest" in hosting a Grand Prix.

"The government of Thailand, the prime minister, and F1 are really interested to develop a project. We should finalise something in the next months," he said, calling the talks "very good" but cautioning "I'm not here to oversell."

The Thailand prospect arrives as F1 grapples with a record 24-race calendar since the 2024 season, up from 22 in 2021 when Domenicali first took charge. With races now spanning five continents including seven in Asia, the Italian emphasised that new additions like Thailand would require existing events to rotate or drop off the calendar.

"We don't want to go over 24 races. It's a matter of working with opportunities," he said, noting the sport's evolution from a Europe-centric schedule to a "real world championship", with fewer than half the races now held in Europe.

Domenicali stressed a focus on improving the fan experience over sheer volume. "We want to work with promoters to improve quality. That's very, very important," he said, the philosophy of which aligns with his recently announced five-year contract extension, securing his leadership of F1 through 2029.

"We need to get into new audiences, and it's in our DNA to keep the eye on sustainability," he added.

Meanwhile, F1's grid will expand in 2026 with Cadillac as the sport's 11th team, backed by American automotive giant General Motors. Domenicali hailed the entry as a "big, tough challenge" but vital for innovation.

"Cadillac, one of the biggest manufacturers in the automotive industry in our competition, brings technology and expertise. It's beneficial to our sport," he said, though he ruled out further team additions.

"We need to work on quality more than quantity."  

-- BERNAMA-XINHUA