F1 fever: South Korea wants to host a GP again in 2028

Unfortunate precedent South Korea has hosted four Formula 1 GPs in its history, from 2010 to 2013, on the Yeongam track. Some of these races – for example the first and last edition – have entered the collective memory of fans, but not for the best reasons: the 2010 edition was conditioned by heavy rain and above all by brand new asphalt which ‘exuded’ large quantities of oils and liquids, transforming the circuit into a sort of ice skating rink. In 2013, even worse happened when, following an accident, a pickup truck entered the track in the middle of the race, without having been authorized by anyone, and positioned itself in front of the oncoming cars. Luckily no one got hurt on the occasion, but that remains the last image of F1 in Korea, at least until today. Pros and cons In fact, the Asian country wants to try again and has presented a very ambitious project to host a Formula 1 GP again as early as 2028. The race venue this time would be the city of Incheon, which is about 40 km from the capital Seoul. On Thursday, April 16, the results of the ‘Basic Plan and Preliminary Feasibility Study for the Incheon Formula 1 Grand Prix’ were published, estimating the expected revenue for a five-year period at approximately 1.16 trillion won (approximately 790 million dollars), while the expected costs amounted to 802 billion won (approximately 542 million dollars), thus indicating the apparent economic feasibility of the project. Incheon circuit design proposal / Courtesy of Incheon city The circuit would be a city track with a length of 4,960 km with 15 curves. The feasibility study, jointly conducted by German circuit design firm Tilke and the Korea Institute for Industrial Development, projected an influx of around 120,000 daily visitors over the three days of the race, which would generate around 580 billion won in tourism revenue while creating around 4,800 jobs. The problem, however, will be finding space for this event in a calendar which – apart from the cancellation of the races in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia this year due to the war – already includes 24 events, which CEO Stefano Domenicali himself has considered the maximum limit to make the calendar sustainable. In the 2027 season, Portimao’s return to the world championship program is already certain and the annual rotations of some European circuits will begin, including Spa-Francorchamps. It should also be highlighted from a ‘political’ point of view that the geographical area in which South Korea is located already has numerous ‘historic’ competitions scheduled such as those in Japan, China and Singapore. A further event could risk diluting too much the interest of the public in that area of ​​the world towards F1.