Formula One boss Stefano Domenicali held talks with Thailand’s prime minister on Tuesday about possible plans to bring a Grand Prix to the kingdom.

The Italian ex-Ferrari boss who has just extended his contract to lead the sport until 2029, is keen to examine new markets as the sport soars in popularity, and Thailand has suggested it may be interested.

Most of Formula One’s 24-race schedule is locked in for several years, but gaps are set to open up and Domenicali suggested at the weekend that Thailand could be a contender to join the circuit.

After the talks, Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra said Thailand would move ahead with a feasibility study to examine the pros and cons of hosting F1 — including the costs and where the race would be run.

“It’s not just about the honour of hosting the race, but also a significant opportunity to develop urban infrastructure, welcome tourists from around the world to Thailand and develop industry and service sectors,” she posted on social media platform X.

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Thailand’s northeastern Buriram track has become a regular fixture on the MotoGP circuit, hosting the season opening race earlier this month, but the kingdom has never hosted Formula 1.

Government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said the prime minister told Domenicali that Thailand would work with F1 officials to see how a Grand Prix could work in the kingdom.

Domenicali visited Bangkok in April last year for talks with then-prime minister Srettha Thavisin, who pitched his vision of bringing a race to the sprawling, traffic-clogged Thai capital.

Thai officials said at the time they envisaged a street circuit, possibly around Bangkok’s historic centre, as the kingdom looks to boost its image internationally through a host of “soft power” initiatives.

Thai officials said at the time they envisaged a central street circuit.
Thai officials said at the time they envisaged a central street circuit.Source: Getty Images

But Thailand is not the only country knocking at F1’s door — historic hosts France and Germany are seeking a return to the calendar, while the Turkish Grand Prix, last held in 2021, is also seen as a likely candidate.

The Asia-Pacific region currently hosts four races — in Australia, China, Japan and Singapore — while Thailand is represented on the grid by Alex Albon of Williams, who finished fifth in Melbourne.

RULES CLAMPDOWN PUTS HEAT ON MCLAREN

One race in 2025 was all it took for the FIA to announce new measures regarding a bubbling rules controversy in the paddock surrounding flexi-wings.

From this week’s Chinese Grand Prix, teams will now have to pass ramped up rear-wing flexibility tests to remain compliant.

McLaren’s rear wing caused a stir in F1 last year with rivals questioning the amount of flex that was being seen on their car, which they agreed to change after the Azerbaijan GP.

But that wasn’t the end of the matter with grumbles about rear-wing flexibility — which can boost straight-line speed by reducing drag — carrying into the start of a new season in Melbourne, where McLaren was comfortably the strongest team.

Sky Sports’ Bernie Collins explained on Sky Sports’ F1 Show the challenge McLaren — and indeed its rivals — now face.

“They apply a load to that and they’re trying to make sure that when they apply that load, it doesn’t deflect by a certain amount. That was allowed to deflect by 2mm and now it’s only allowed to flex by 0.5mm. So they’ve really reduced the amount that can deflect when they put the load on it,” she said on the show.

“What’s interesting is that they’ve done it so quickly, so all the teams are currently transferring everything from Australia to China.

“Any team that (would have) failed (the new tests) last week, would have a big turnaround to pass this week, which makes me wonder if they think the teams would pass with the current setup.”

All teams passed testing in Melbourne, but the FIA decided from its own analysis that “sufficient grounds exist for a tougher test”.

Sky Sports F1 pit lane reporter Ted Kravitz said McLaren and Ferrari appeared to be the most concerned with their own wings, and that they could be under pressure from “agitation” from their rivals.

“I saw McLaren doing their own tests. I saw Ferrari doing their own tests. You could barely see some sponsors’ logos for all the contact point stickers that were on various bits of wings for all of the teams throughout the weekend.

“The question for me is, clearly this is one or two or three teams agitating towards the teams that they think are in a sort of grey area for this.”