In the photograph, Greg Maffei of Liberty Media is seen alongside Mohammed Ben Sulayem from FIA.
Liberty Media CEO Greg Maffei has revealed there has been a “big push” by Thailand and South Korea to join the F1 calendar, as well as Indonesia holding interest at different times.
Maffei disclosed that the commercial rights holders of the sport were making significant progress in bringing F1 back to South Africa, but unfortunately, a deal did not come to fruition.
Greg Maffei reveals F1 calendar interest from several nations
Thailand’s prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, was a guest on the grid as the recent Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix while he was in Italy, with Maffei confirming the Southeast Asian nation is looking to join Formula 1.
F1 had previously made visits to South Korea, with the Korea International Circuit in Yeongam being a part of the calendar from 2010 to 2013. However, the CEO of Liberty Media recently disclosed that there are plans to reintroduce the sport to the country.
Maffei confirmed that due to the significant burden on teams, the current race count of 24 is unlikely to be exceeded in the sport’s calendar when explaining its logistics.
Maffei expressed his skepticism about surpassing 24 when discussing the calendar limit with the Beyond the Grid podcast.
It is evident that there are strains at 24, and we are putting in considerable effort to mitigate them.
When organizing the schedule for these circuits, you are attempting to align multiple constraints.
What does the F1 calendar look like and how long will each circuit appear on it?
F1 schedule: When is the next F1 race and where is it being held?
F1 circuit contracts: How long is each circuit’s place guaranteed on the F1 calendar?
“There are some places which always happen at the same time. In the US Memorial Day is Monaco. Silverstone is always around July 4th, again, picking the US holidays, Monza around Labor Day, again, using the US holidays, so it’s hard to move those.
You aim to optimize sales, distance, weather, and utilize historical venues during their respective historic times.
Putting that calendar together, we are likely reaching our limit with 24.
Regarding any additional entrants, Madrid has already been confirmed as taking on the mantle of the Spanish Grand Prix from 2026, though Barcelona officials are looking to keep a race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya beyond that year.
When asked about the future direction of the sport, Maffei disclosed the emerging interest from other markets and shared his thoughts on where he would like to see it expand globally.
“He mentioned that although we made attempts to establish a presence in Africa, we haven’t achieved success yet. It would be wonderful to have a foothold there.”
Although we made significant progress in our negotiations with South Africa, unfortunately, we were unable to finalize the deal and make it work. Nevertheless, we remain committed to exploring further opportunities.
Other regions, like Southeast Asia, have seen significant demand, with South Korea and Thailand making considerable efforts. Additionally, Indonesia has shown interest at different points in time.
Maffei suggested that rotation or the possibility of other circuits being removed from the schedule could be potential solutions when faced with the question of accommodating other circuits.
He provided further clarification by stating, “It is evident that there is rotational changes, with certain locations being more or less probable to remain on the schedule.”
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