Rio to host F1 Grand Prix from 2020: Bolsonaro
By Trend
The Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix will return to Rio de Janeiro for the first time in three decades next year, President Jair Bolsonaro said on Wednesday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
Bolsonaro said a new track in the western neighborhood of Deodoro will be built for the race, adding that a tender process would be launched in the coming weeks.
"The Rio de Janeiro circuit will be finished six or seven months after the start of construction work," Bolsonaro told reporters.
However officials questioned whether the race could in fact be held in Rio so soon, given that Sao Paulo's Interlagos circuit is contracted to stage the event until 2020.
There are also doubts about whether the new circuit - which will reportedly bear the name of late Brazilian Formula One legend Ayrton Senna - would be ready in time. Preliminary tender documents outline a two-year work timetable for the track's completion.
According to Bolsonaro, Formula 1 executives have given tacit support for the race to be held in Rio.
Interpub, the company responsible for organizing the Brazilian Grand Prix, and the Sao Paulo city government insisted the race would be staged at Interlagos in 2020.