South Korea wants to get serious about bringing F1, the maximum expression of motor sport, back to its country.
The Asian state, after the unsuccessful Grand Prix held between 2010 and 2013 on the Yeongam circuit, a track that did not find success within the motorsports and which today is only used for a local category, wants to try to bring Formula 1 back to a country where it has been missing since the Bernie Ecclestone era.
F1: South Korea tries again
South Korea, through the mayor of the city of Incheon, reports the English newspaper "The Independent", has sent a letter of intent to the authorities of the series to understand if there are margins to host the cars on an urban circuit.
During the Japanese Grand Prix, the mayor, Yoo Jeong-bok, personally communicated to the CEO of F1, Stefano Domenicali from Imola, his intention to take concrete action.
An initial proposal envisaged building a motorsport hub at Incheon international airport, but it seems that the only currently viable idea is to have a facility that will wind through the streets of the city in the north-west of the country.
Incheon is the third largest city in South Korea after the capital Seoul and Busan. It has around 3 million inhabitants. Its geographical position favors it as it is served by the international airport, the first in terms of number of passengers in the country. It also has the second largest port after Busan and is a few kilometers from the capital Seoul.
If the negotiations between the city of Incheon and Liberty Media were to be successful, a Grand Prix could already be held between 2026 and 2027. This would become the third Grand Prix to be held in the Far East, after Japan and China, and the ninth street circuit after those of Jeddah, Melbourne, Monte Carlo, Baku, Singapore, Las Vegas and Madrid which, we remind you, will host F1 starting from 2026.
There is, at the moment, no news of a first draft of layout of the route, but South Korea is serious. Developments are expected in the coming months. Are European plants shaking?
Crediti foto: F1