"A lot of hard work" needed for F1 return to Argentina

Argentinian government is surfing on Franco Colapinto's popularity, but a home race won't be a short-term prospect

Argentina has taken its first tentative steps towards a return of its Formula 1 grand prix in Buenos Aires but will have several hurdles to overcome to get there.

Argentina's former vice president Daniel Scioli, who currently serves as the country's tourism minister, led a delegation that also included the Argentinian automobile federation president Cesar Carman as they held exploratory talks with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

The dream is for the Argentinian Grand Prix to return to the calendar at the same circuit that last hosted the event, the Autodromo Oscar y Juan Galvez initially built in the 1950s, ideally incorporating part of its longer original loop so modern F1 cars can stretch their legs, rather than the cramped and unpopular layout used in the 1990s.

The timing of Scioli's push coincides with Franco Colapinto's F1 cameo with Williams - the 21-year-old catching the eye in several ways. His on-track performances have led to sudden interest from Red Bull to add him to its four-driver roster, while off the track, Colapinto has caused a surge of interest from fans and sponsors in his country, which has only swelled as the championship hit the American continent for its most recent run of races.

While thousands of Argentinian fans were cheering on their new F1 hero on at Interlagos, Scioli and his delegation introduced themselves to Domenicali on their fact-finding mission of what it will take to bring the series back to Argentina's capital.

"I am very proud of what Colapinto is generating as an Argentinian," Scioli told Autosport.

"His charisma, his human qualities, his quality as a driver are wonderful. At a time when Formula 1 is growing, generating more and more expectations, it is an event that goes beyond sport, with political and social impact."

Asked about the meeting with F1, Scioli replied: "We are starting to work on the possibility of bringing Formula 1 back to Argentina. Stefano knows Argentina very well, he has the best memories of our country. The meeting was very cordial, bearing in mind that we are talking about the organisation of an event that is the most sophisticated in the world in terms of logistics of all kinds.

"There is a lot of hard work to be done in order to reach the objective. We have to work on the race track, on all the requirements of an event as sophisticated as this one."

Scioli stopped short of speculating over a timeline, saying it "will depend on the organisation" how many years it will take.

But he confirmed to Autosport that - according to the austere policies of president Javier Milei's libertarian government - the project will have to rely exclusively on private funding to get off the ground.

While several Argentinian sponsors like Mercado Libre and Globant swiftly followed Colapinto into F1, it remains to be seen whether the country can generate the necessary corporate interest to shoulder the huge renovation project required to bring its former F1 venue on the south side of Buenos Aires up to modern F1 standards. With Colapinto yet to find a long-term F1 drive, there are also no guarantees that the young Argentine will even be on the grid by the time his nation is ready to host the series.

Autosport understands F1 has welcomed the surge of interest from Argentina, but the country is up against fierce competition to stake a place on the schedule. With calendar slots limited to 24 races per year, any prospective F1 destination will have to present an impressive bid to be considered, both commercially and in terms of long-term sustainability.

F1 is still eyeing expansion in Asia, with talks on-going in Thailand and South Korea, and is preparing a rotation system for certain European races to make room for them on its calendar for 2026 or beyond.

Rwanda, which hosts the FIA prizegiving gala next month, has also emerged as a long-term contender for a race, which would fulfil a long-running goal of hosting a race on the African continent. Meanwhile, reports from South African government officials suggesting the country is getting closer to an F1 return are understood to be premature.