Thailand Grand Prix being considered - AutoWeek

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Negotiations are under way for a Formula One Thailand Grand Prix, Red Bull owner Dietrich Mateschitz has confirmed. Speaking in the nation's capital, Bangkok, the energy-drink company's billionaire founder told local media, "The idea is good. We are in talks. I can't give details because it is not my responsibility. [F1 boss] Bernie Ecclestone agrees with the idea, and we might sign an agreement soon. Thailand could host a Formula One race in the next two or three years.”

Mateschitz's tone suggests that Red Bull might be behind the idea and involved in the talks between Formula One and the Thai government.

Thailand is a target market for Mateschitz, and, 18 months ago, Mark Webber demonstrated a Red Bull F1 car on an improvised street circuit centered on Ratchadamnoen Avenue in Bangkok.

Thailand does have an FIA-licensed racing venue, named the Bira Circuit after the nation's one and only F1 driver, Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh, who died in London in 1985. It is located on the outskirts of Pattaya, about 75 miles from the capital, and would need substantial upgrades to get an F1 license. A street circuit appears a more likely option. Mateschitz concluded, "I remember that a lot of people watched the show, so a race here will be successful. People could see champions racing here."

As to how the F1 calendar--now at its apparent maximum of 20 races--could accommodate another new Grand Prix remains unknown. Ecclestone's enthusiasm for alternating races among countries might be the solution, however.

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Edited March 31, 2012 by FarangFarang

[Stramash]

There have been seasons with more than 20 races before so it is not a maximum. Could be a huge coup for Thailand (maybe not the best choice of words) Asia is a huge market for the F1 brand these days as shown by the recent addition of Singapore. Not so sure about the street circuit idea - can lower the profit made in the long term (look at Australia) Better idea to upgrade Bira and try and attract other racing categories such as superbikes.

[simply_oriental]

Will you believe me if i say the owner of red bull ,he just stay in a simple house not same the palace and when you go one temple he is the one who dress short and a t-shirt standing there and sweeping the floor.he is a real great guy i admired him very much,no matter he will do he will success.

[andy33]

it would be a great idea for thailand to hold motorsports venues.as it wud bring huge revenue into the country, which will boost the economy.if anything they shud hold motogp and world superbikes races there.with the amount of ppl who ride bikes there it wud probably be the best bet

[Guest Koldfuzion83]

As an F1 fan myself, I would love to see a Thai Grand Prix. Whether the Bira Circuit is upgraded or a new street circuit is built, I'm sure it will be great. And, depending on the time of the year and its exact location, the weather could make it a very challenging course. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

[FarangFarang]

As an F1 fan myself, I would love to see a Thai Grand Prix. Whether the Bira Circuit is upgraded or a new street circuit is built, I'm sure it will be great. And, depending on the time of the year and its exact location, the weather could make it a very challenging course. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

It would be interesting to see how they deal with the massive influx of tourists for such a short period. Even if you figure 2 weeks as the average stay, that's a lot of people pouring into Bangkok. Hotels booked solid.

[Guest Koldfuzion83]

Yeah. That's a good point, Bill. Well, I'm no architect, and I'm not too knowledgeable on the geology of Thailand, but I wonder if they could choose to build a new track in a specially chosen place so the tourists wouldn't all congregate in one area and, instead, spread out in all directions looking for hotels. That would lessen the load and make things easier and more manageable for hotel owners. The only other two ways I can think of is to build more hotels or expand the ones already nearby. Either way, it's going to be costly. Obviously there is going to have to be a lot of planning before this can all go ahead. I don't want it to be an inconvenience to Thai people, but I hope Thailand becomes part of the F1 Grand Prix schedule.

[Stramash]

The whole idea of a street circuit is it uses existing roads and adapts them for the race (think Singapore and Monaco). I don't think that is the way to go for Thailand. Plus F1 alone would not produce enough revenue - needs to attract the other motorsports including the bike racing. I also don't think a track from scratch is affordable just now. Best option is to redevelop Bira.

[Stramash]

It would be interesting to see how they deal with the massive influx of tourists for such a short period. Even if you figure 2 weeks as the average stay, that's a lot of people pouring into Bangkok. Hotels booked solid.

Again, this would lean me towards Bira. Pattaya and area could cope with the influx. Of course there would have to be improvements in transport links etc too. But really I would say it is the only option as far as Thailand is concerned.

[FarangFarang]

Yeah. That's a good point, Bill. Well, I'm no architect, and I'm not too knowledgeable on the geology of Thailand, but I wonder if they could choose to build a new track in a specially chosen place so the tourists wouldn't all congregate in one area and, instead, spread out in all directions looking for hotels. That would lessen the load and make things easier and more manageable for hotel owners. The only other two ways I can think of is to build more hotels or expand the ones already nearby. Either way, it's going to be costly. Obviously there is going to have to be a lot of planning before this can all go ahead. I don't want it to be an inconvenience to Thai people, but I hope Thailand becomes part of the F1 Grand Prix schedule.

I agree. But Thailand does need to diversify their tourism portfolio. I've been preaching that for years :-) There's only so many ways you can try to sell eco-tourism and white, sandy beaches. Thailand holds a monopoly on neither type of tourism since there are tons of great beaches and far less spoiled ecosystems within an hour flight.

So the real issue is how to handle the kind of tourism spikes that something like this would cause. Considering it took nearly 5 years to build a train from the airport to central Bangkok, I'm not optimistic that government planners would be able to solve the congestion problem in a timely manner.

It would be a huge boost to Thailand if they could pull it off. But it is one of those things you only get one shot at. If people come and complain about hotels, scammers, traffic, or whatever, it's easy to get dropped from future F1 events. And once you get dropped by one group, others will stay clear as well. So if they do it, they need to do it right.

[luckyphil247]

great idea, the top 3 drivers up on the podium could also get blow jobs from the red bull models

[Stramash]

I agree. But Thailand does need to diversify their tourism portfolio. I've been preaching that for years :-) There's only so many ways you can try to sell eco-tourism and white, sandy beaches. Thailand holds a monopoly on neither type of tourism since there are tons of great beaches and far less spoiled ecosystems within an hour flight.

So the real issue is how to handle the kind of tourism spikes that something like this would cause. Considering it took nearly 5 years to build a train from the airport to central Bangkok, I'm not optimistic that government planners would be able to solve the congestion problem in a timely manner.

It would be a huge boost to Thailand if they could pull it off. But it is one of those things you only get one shot at. If people come and complain about hotels, scammers, traffic, or whatever, it's easy to get dropped from future F1 events. And once you get dropped by one group, others will stay clear as well. So if they do it, they need to do it right.

Think you have hit several nails on the head there Bill. Bernie is not a man known for his patience, and though I'd love to see Thailand on the calendar, the whole 'can they improve the infrastructure' question keeps rearing its head. You also have to consider that it would not be one 'spike' but several. No circuit (not counting street circuits here) can exist on F1 alone, and the other motorsports can draw similar crowds. I still see somewhere in the Pattaya area as the only realistic option. Thailand is not organised enough to start from scratch in a more remote area the way some of the emerging races have done.

The potential for political unrest may also be a stumbling block.

Thailand may fall way down the pecking order as far as potential to host a Grand Prix goes. We have the new US Grand Prix this year as well as New Jersey one the following season. Russia joins the list in 2014 and South Africa, Mexico and Argentina are all looking possibles.

Ironically, especially given some of your posts re Thailand falling behind other ASEAN countries, Thailand may face stiff competition from Vietnam, http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/36442.html with a $150 million track already proposed there.

Given all this, and despite it being a lovely idea, realistically I can't see it happening in the next 10 years. Maybe the 10 after...

[FarangFarang]

Think you have hit several nails on the head there Bill. Bernie is not a man known for his patience, and though I'd love to see Thailand on the calendar, the whole 'can they improve the infrastructure' question keeps rearing its head. You also have to consider that it would not be one 'spike' but several. No circuit (not counting street circuits here) can exist on F1 alone, and the other motorsports can draw similar crowds. I still see somewhere in the Pattaya area as the only realistic option. Thailand is not organised enough to start from scratch in a more remote area the way some of the emerging races have done.

The potential for political unrest may also be a stumbling block.

Thailand may fall way down the pecking order as far as potential to host a Grand Prix goes. We have the new US Grand Prix this year as well as New Jersey one the following season. Russia joins the list in 2014 and South Africa, Mexico and Argentina are all looking possibles.

Ironically, especially given some of your posts re Thailand falling behind other ASEAN countries, Thailand may face stiff competition from Vietnam, http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/36442.html with a $150 million track already proposed there.

Given all this, and despite it being a lovely idea, realistically I can't see it happening in the next 10 years. Maybe the 10 after...

Add to that the total chaos that will result from that much prestige and money being thrown around. Every politician, policeman, army general, and two-bit government employee will be so busy figuring out ways to skim some cash off the top that, sadly, it'll end up being a 1/2 mile track with cardboard boxes for seating, built on property belonging to someone high up on the food chain, and they'll build a toll booth every mile on the road between Bangkok and wherever they locate the track.

You're right on the dot about Vietnam too. If they get the okay to move forward they'll have that track built and ready in 3 years. Even if I was being overly optimistic, five years is the very, very, very soonest I could see Thailand getting a proper track ready for a F1 event. Your estimate of ten years is probably much closer to reality. That puts them 2 - 7 years behind Vietnam.

[Dave40]

The whole idea of a street circuit is it uses existing roads and adapts them for the race (think Singapore and Monaco).

+ Melbourne it has a great street circut the reason why I know that is because I have driven on it ( but sticking to the speed limit which is 50 kph (about 30 miles per hour) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Stramash]

+ Melbourne it has a great street circut the reason why I know that is because I have driven on it ( but sticking to the speed limit which is 50 kph (about 30 miles per hour) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great street circuit but **** business model!!

[Stramash]

Add to that the total chaos that will result from that much prestige and money being thrown around. Every politician, policeman, army general, and two-bit government employee will be so busy figuring out ways to skim some cash off the top that, sadly, it'll end up being a 1/2 mile track with cardboard boxes for seating, built on property belonging to someone high up on the food chain, and they'll build a toll booth every mile on the road between Bangkok and wherever they locate the track.

You're right on the dot about Vietnam too. If they get the okay to move forward they'll have that track built and ready in 3 years. Even if I was being overly optimistic, five years is the very, very, very soonest I could see Thailand getting a proper track ready for a F1 event. Your estimate of ten years is probably much closer to reality. That puts them 2 - 7 years behind Vietnam.

Agreed. But I also think it is more likely 20 years or more - not the time to take to build but purely because there will only ever be a maximum amount of races. Can't see the calendar ever extending beyond around 25/26 races so Thailand would have to join a queue.

Taking all the points made into consideration, I would say it will never happen.

[Dave40]

Great street circuit but **** business model!!

my taxes are paying for this !!!! alot of people here are not happy due to the state government (victoria) having to pay alot of money to put the race on!!!!

[Stramash]

my taxes are paying for this !!!! alot of people here are not happy due to the state government (victoria) having to pay alot of money to put the race on!!!!

Hence the **** business model comment. Lol

[Teddy]

Also, the taxi's will get in the way and the tuk tuk will be offering to take the drivers to the finish line for 100 baht. My choice would be motorbike.

Then head to Nana for a podium finish....boom boom tsh.

[FarangFarang]

Agreed. But I also think it is more likely 20 years or more - not the time to take to build but purely because there will only ever be a maximum amount of races. Can't see the calendar ever extending beyond around 25/26 races so Thailand would have to join a queue.

Taking all the points made into consideration, I would say it will never happen.

Hence all my other previous comments about Thailand losing ground against its ASEAN neighbors. This won't be the last major opportunity that Thailand misses out on because they are unprepared, have left a bad taste in people's mouths by storming the ASEAN summit in Pattaya (and closing the airports, and closing off half the city, etc), totally dropped the ball in regards to the flooding situation in Bangkok, and don't seem to understand the concept that you can sheer a sheep many times but you can only slaughter it once.

I'm not Thailand bashing. I'm just pointing out how other people will look at this when they have significant amounts of money to invest in the region. We've already seen that with the flooding that occurred. Most businesses people concur that if you've already invested in Thailand you probably have no choice but to continue but if you're looking for invest new money, the smart money is going elsewhere.

That's a real shame. Given all of the advantages Thailand has had over the last 30 or 40 years they should be so far ahead of their neighbors that they're virtually uncatchable. Unfortunately, they've done little to invest their good fortunes in future growth so they've stagnated while everyone around them is catching up.

[Stramash]

Hence all my other previous comments about Thailand losing ground against its ASEAN neighbors. This won't be the last major opportunity that Thailand misses out on because they are unprepared, have left a bad taste in people's mouths by storming the ASEAN summit in Pattaya (and closing the airports, and closing off half the city, etc), totally dropped the ball in regards to the flooding situation in Bangkok, and don't seem to understand the concept that you can sheer a sheep many times but you can only slaughter it once.

I'm not Thailand bashing. I'm just pointing out how other people will look at this when they have significant amounts of money to invest in the region. We've already seen that with the flooding that occurred. Most businesses people concur that if you've already invested in Thailand you probably have no choice but to continue but if you're looking for invest new money, the smart money is going elsewhere.

That's a real shame. Given all of the advantages Thailand has had over the last 30 or 40 years they should be so far ahead of their neighbors that they're virtually uncatchable. Unfortunately, they've done little to invest their good fortunes in future growth so they've stagnated while everyone around them is catching up.

Agree totally, and your posts have been bang on. It would be a real coup (maybe not best choice of word) if they could pull the finger out and make it happen. Would be such a huge tourist boost, especially as many would come for more than the 3 days of the race. But I just cant see it happening. It's actually quite sad.

[FarangFarang]

Agree totally, and your posts have been bang on. It would be a real coup (maybe not best choice of word) if they could pull the finger out and make it happen. Would be such a huge tourist boost, especially as many would come for more than the 3 days of the race. But I just cant see it happening. It's actually quite sad.

In my last post I started to write a sentence that used the word "coup" and had that same thought :-)

Like you say, it's sad. Mostly because this is EXACTLY the type of tourist the TAT has been salivating over for years. TAT always compares hotel room rates to Hong Kong and Singapore which tells you where their heads are at. They're trying to edge into that class of tourism.

But, and as I've said many times before, Thailand doesn't have the same quality as Hong Kong and Singapore. Being on the F1 calendar would move it in that direction.

And it's a snowball effect. If Vietnam gets on the F1 tour and Thailand doesn't, it makes it that much easier for Vietnam to compete for other regional events as well.