Thailand plans bid for F1 race in 2028
[BANGKOK] Thailand plans on bidding to host a Formula One race by 2028, the government said on Monday (May 26), after Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra held her latest talks with motorsport bosses at the Monaco Grand Prix.
A bid and feasibility proposal will be submitted to the Thai Cabinet for approval on Wednesday next week, government spokesman Jirayu Houngsub said in a statement.
Plans for a Thai grand prix, most likely run as a street race in the capital Bangkok, have been under serious discussion for more than a year.
The Thai government has touted the idea of a 'sustainable' race and Jirayu said the grand prix could benefit the kingdom to the tune of US$600 million.
Paetongtarn has held multiple meetings with F1 chief Stefano Domenicali as she seeks to push the project forward, including at the weekend in Monte Carlo, home to the sport's most storied street race.
Most of Formula One's 24-race schedule is confirmed for several years but gaps are set to open up and Domenicali has suggested that Thailand could be a contender to join the circuit.
Last month, British-Thai driver Alex Albon of Williams said the kingdom was taking the idea 'very seriously' and had come up with strong plans.
Formula One currently stages one race in South-east Asia, in Singapore, which is regarded as the toughest race of the season because of the intense heat and humidity. AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Times
38 minutes ago
- Business Times
Garuda said in talks for US$500 million from Indonesia wealth fund
[JAKARTA] Garuda Indonesia is in talks with the country's sovereign wealth fund Danantara about an injection of around US$500 million, according to sources familiar with the matter, as the struggling national carrier looks to turn its business around. An agreement could be reached as soon as June or July and would be part of an initial stage of funding that may be done in two parts to help the carrier right its finances, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Some of the money is planned to go to Garuda's budget carrier Citilink in order to get more than a dozen of its jets back in the air, the sources said. The Indonesian government is also considering moving control of Citilink to state-owned oil giant Pertamina, they said, adding that discussions are fluid and no final decisions have been made. Representatives for Garuda declined to comment on any specific financial assistance that Danantara may provide, and instead referred to a statement made last month, in which the carrier said that 'such corporate action is fully under the authority of the shareholders and related stakeholders'. A representative for Danantara declined to comment. Pertamina said that Indonesia's 'state-owned Enterprises Ministry had an idea once about a merger of Pelita Air and Citilink, but until now, we haven't got more updates', referring to Pertamina's small, privately owned airline. Garuda, which is majority-owned by the state, returned to a net loss last year after two years of profit thanks to the post-Covid travel boom. Its ongoing financial struggles saw the airline appoint a new chief executive officer in Wamildan Tsani Panjaitan in November, who has been on a mission to fix its balance sheet and expand its international network. As at December, Garuda had around US$1.4 billion more in debt than assets, a capital shortfall some analysts have said needs to be closed before the carrier can function normally again as a company and obtain additional external funding. The carrier's situation has drawn the attention of President Prabowo Subianto and, in March, Indonesia's government transferred its 65 per cent stake in Garuda to Danantara as part of Prabowo's sweeping overhaul of how the country runs its state-owned companies. The 76-year-old airline is a major employer and a key mode of transport for Indonesia, a nation that's made up of 17,000 islands over an area spanning the distance from New York to London. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
38 minutes ago
- Business Times
Nio records US$949.6 million net loss for Q1
[SINGAPORE] Chinese electric vehicle maker Nio posted a net loss of US$949.6 million for its first quarter of 2025 ended March, representing a 31.1 per cent increase from the year-ago period and a 3.4 per cent decrease from the previous quarter. This comes despite the group recording higher total revenue for the quarter, at US$1,658.4 million, an increase of 21.5 per cent from the year-ago period, and a decrease of 38.9 per cent from the prior quarter, said the group on Tuesday (Jun 3). Loss from operations for Q1 rose 19 per cent on the year to US$884.4 million and climbed 6.4 per cent on the quarter. Net loss was up 30.2 per cent year-on-year and down 5.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter, at US$930.2 million. Q1 gross profit stood at US$126.7 million, 88.5 per cent higher on the year but 60.2 per cent lower on the quarter. Gross margin was 7.6 per cent for Q1 of 2025, compared with 4.9 per cent in Q1 of 2024 and 11.7 per cent in Q4 of 2024. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Vehicle deliveries stood at 42,094 for Q1 2025, up 40.1 per cent on the year but down 42.1 per cent on the quarter. Vehicle sales came in at US$1,369.7 million, 18.6 per cent higher than Q1 of 2024 but 43.1 per cent lower than Q4 of 2024. For the second quarter, the group expects vehicle deliveries to be between 72,000 and 75,000 vehicles, representing an increase of around 25.5 per cent to 30.7 per cent from the year-ago quarter. Total revenues are forecast to stand between US$2,689 million and US$2,765 million, translating to an increase of around 11.8 per cent to 15.0 per cent from Q2 of 2024. Shares of Nio on the Singapore Exchange ended on Tuesday 0.3 per cent or US$0.01 higher at US$3.53, before the announcement.
AsiaOne
an hour ago
- AsiaOne
China tells US envoy Washington must get ties back on 'right track', World News
BEIJING — The US should create the necessary conditions for bilateral relations to get back onto "the right track", China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told the US ambassador to Beijing on Tuesday (June 3), according to a ministry statement. After trade talks last month in Geneva, China has "conscientiously and strictly" implemented the consensus reached by both sides, but it is "regrettable that the US recently introduced a series of 'negative' measures", which China firmly opposes, Wang told Ambassador David Perdue. Bilateral relations are at a critical juncture, and dialogue and co-operation are "the only correct choice," Wang said. Perdue said in an X post after the meeting that he had emphasised US President Donald Trump's priorities on trade, fentanyl, and illegal immigration, adding that "communication is vital" to US-China relations. Trump on Friday accused China of violating a bilateral deal to roll back tariffs and trade restrictions, and the US has ordered curbs on chip design software and other shipments to China. The Geneva truce to dial back triple-digit tariffs for 90 days prompted a massive relief rally in global stocks. But it did nothing to address the underlying reasons for Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, mainly longstanding US complaints about China's state-dominated, export-driven economic model. Senior US officials have said this week that Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping would speak soon to iron out trade issues, including a dispute over critical minerals and China's restrictions on exports of certain minerals. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a regular news briefing on Tuesday the Trump administration "is actively monitoring China's compliance with the Geneva trade agreement", and added that "there will be a leader to leader talk very soon". [[nid:717873]]
