The Formula 1 calendar is increasingly moving East with races in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Azerbaijan and talk of Qatar, but another unlikely country is hoping to join the grid in the near future.
Iran has announced plans to become “the world’s most beautiful F1 destination” with the construction of an FIA Grade 1 circuit on Qeshm Island.
Iran’s Vice President and Head of Cultural Heritage, Handicrafts and Tourism Organization, Masoud Soltanifar, told the IRNA news agency that the sport has a “great future” in the country.
“Iran has so many young people with an increasing tendency for driving,” he said at the weekend. “Formula 1 has a great future in Iran.”
Qeshm Island, off Iran’s South-East coast, is just 50km north of the United Arab Emirates, which is already host to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
With Bahrain able to veto new races in the Middle East, something which it has reportedly done with Qatar’s bid to host a street race in its capital Doha, it seems unlikely that Iran would be able to secure the rights to host a round of the Formula 1 World Championship.
