F1 could be heading to a new country in the near future with Greece preparing a stunning new street circuit to present to the sport’s figureheads. The race would be held in Athens, although a potential date for its introduction to the calendar is not yet known.
After Qatar and Saudi Arabia hosted their first Grands Prix in 2021, F1 has now travelled to 34 different countries on every major continent. However, while the most recent calendar additions have been in the Gulf, the next could come from Europe.
According to a report from the Greek publication News Auto, F1 bosses have already been presented with a proposal for a Grand Prix at the new Ellinikon metropolitan area, which is a major urban restoration project being constructed by Lamda Development.
The report states that the representatives were blown away by the grandeur of the proposed event with the Elliniko region boasting the coastline and casinos of Monaco, as well as the shining lights of Las Vegas.
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Even if the new proposal for the Athens Grand Prix makes it through the planning phase, changes will need to be made to the calendar to find a place for the race in the current schedule.
F1 and Stefano Domenicali revealed the controversial new calendar for the 2024 campaign earlier season. It will feature a record-breaking 24 races and push team members and resources to the brink as the sport looks to penetrate new markets across the globe.
Speaking about the future of the calendar on the Beyond the Grid podcast, Domenicali said: “What we want to do next year is 24 and I think 24 is the right number.
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“It’s the number that is required within the market. I would say it’s the right balance between that, the complexity of the logistics and of the people that are working. I would say this is the number which we should target to be stable for a long time.”
One possible avenue for Greece to explore could be the idea of race rotation. With Belgium and the Netherlands both fearing for the future of their Grands Prix, the idea of rotating the two on an annual basis has been discussed in F1 circles. The same concept has been mentioned regarding the future of Grand Prix racing in Barcelona and Madrid.
Domenicali did touch on this idea, stating: “In Europe, I am expecting to see races where the rotational principle could be applied. There are already talks with some of them and this is something that in the next two years we are going to clarify formally.”
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