Autodromo Ayrton Senna to host Brazilian Grand Prix in Rio Rio de Janeiro is building a Formula 1 track to replace Autodromo José Carlos Pace (aka Interlagos) as the host the Brazilian Grand Prix and the new venue it is likely to be named after the late Ayrton Senna. While most media (including this website) reported that the Rio race will happen in 2020, there is a snag, namely that Interlagos has a contract to the end of that year and only now has the go-ahead been given to proceed with the construction thereof. Globo report that the new track will be built in Rio de Janeiro on ground ceded by the Army in the Deodoro area and will be named after the Brazilian F1 legend: Autodromo Ayrton Senna. The announcement was made by Mayor Marcello Crivella, during a ceremony that marked the signing of an agreement to use the site, who also indicated that the Senna name suggestion was made by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. He is on record saying, “I did not choose Rio, I chose Brazil. It was Formula 1 that chose to return to Rio de Janeiro,” And this week the President declared, “A new motor-racing track is going to be built. The construction will take six to seven months and the Brazil Grand Prix will be held in Rio de Janeiro next year.” Also present at the signing ceremony was State Governor Wilson Witzel who confirmed that the construction of a new Rio racetrack was essential due to the real threat of F1 ending their long association with Brazil at the end of the contract with São Paulo next year. Interlagos has become increasingly unsuitable to host races of F1 magnitude as urban sprawl has reached the track perimeters, making access difficult and dangerous as gangs target fans, team personnel and even drivers. Recent races have done little to promote the image of the country due to fallout from reports of attacks on F1 personnel and the high risk of attending the race weekend as an F1 fan from out of town. The Globo report adds that in November 2018, Mayor Crivella and Governor Witzel met with F1 CEO Chase Carey who, after a positive meeting, sped up negotiations so as to allow for the construction of the race track to begin. The Brazilian Grand Prix was held on ten occasions at Autodromo Nelson Piquet in Jacarepaguá, on the western outskirts of Rio, until 1989, as well as Indycar races, before the circuit land was used for the construction of the Olympic Park in 2012. In recent weeks, Liberty Media sent a letter to Bolsonaro, Crivella and Witzel confirming mutual desire to hold the Brazilian Grand Prix in the coastal city. On Wednesday, the three signed a term of commitment to trigger the construction of the race track in the Deodoro area where a race in 2020 is supposedly on the President’s agenda, but this appears a tad ambitious as the construction of the venue is unlikely to be completed within a year. Furthermore, the F1 contract with Interlagos that runs until the end of next year is another stumbling block to overcome, however it would not be inconceivable that the current contract holders strike a deal to transfer next year’s race to the new venue. However, 2021 looks to be the most realistic and likely time for Rio de Janeiro’s Autodromo Ayrton Senna to host the Brazilian Grand Prix in the near future.<doc-sep>Wilson Witzel, a lawyer and judge who was elected last October and took office in January, noted in a tweet that the F1 organisation has written to him expressing its support for a Grand Prix in Rio. He wrote: “I was honoured to receive the letter from Sean Bratches, director of commercial operations of F1, who showed interest in bringing the Brazil GP to RJ. "I have been talking for some time about the design of the track in Deodoro. We will work hard for F1 to return to our RJ.” An F1 spokesman played down the significance of Witzel’s tweet, telling Motorsport.com: “It’s normal to explore every option. Many cities have received letters.” F1 boss Chase Carey visited Rio last November and had a meeting with Witzel, who had just been elected but not yet take office. MotoGP promoter Dorna has also expressed its interest in racing at the venue via a letter of intent. Design company Tilke is involved in the project, which has been in the planning stages since last summer. Deodoro is a military base that was utilised for some of the lower profile events at the 2016 Olympics, including hockey, rugby sevens, shooting, BMX, mountain biking, show jumping and the modern pentathlon. However, efforts are being made to make Deodoro an environmental protection area, which would put a stop to the development of a circuit. Ironically, the main Barra Olympic Park was built at the expense of the former F1 venue at Jacarepagua, which hosted the Brazilian GP in 1978 and from 1981-’89 before the race returned to a rebuilt Interlagos in 1990. Liberty has a strained relationship with the city of Sao Paulo and the race promoters. The event is the least lucrative flyaway race in terms of the fee paid to the F1 organisation. Previously the fee paid by the city was backed up by an extra payment from TV Globo, but that ended after the 2016 race, leading to a shortfall that Liberty had not anticipated when it bought the F1 business – and which was even highlighted in the 2017 annual accounts as a justification for the company’s financial performance. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes AMG F1 W09 EQ Power+, passes Romain Grosjean, Haas F1 Team VF-18 Photo by: Andy Hone / LAT Images<doc-sep>
Amid uncertainty over the long-term future of the current event at Interlagos in Sao Paulo, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro said that a switch of venues would happen in 2020 when the event moves to Rio. At a press conference, he announced that a deal had been signed with Rio’s governor Wilson Witzel and mayor Marcelo Crivella for the construction of a new track in the western Deodoro district. The plan is for the circuit’s construction to be finished before the end of this year, and it will be financed entirely with private money. Speaking to reporters, the president said: “The management of F1 has decided to maintain a grand prix in Brazil, but Sao Paulo has become impractical because of the event’s public financial support and the debt that exists over there. “The new racetrack will be built in six or seven months. The hotel sector will be happy, the state economy as well since it will be six or seven thousands jobs generation. It is good for both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil.” In a tweet, the president stated: “After our victory in the elections, Formula 1, which would leave Brazil, decided not only to remain, but also to build a new race track in RJ [City of Rio de Janeiro], which will have the name of the idol Ayrton Senna. With this, thousands of jobs will be created, benefiting the economy and the population of the state.” The former home of the Brazilian Grand Prix in Rio, the Jacarepagua circuit, was demolished as it gave way to the Olympic Park in 2016. The new Deodoro circuit will be built on land that has been given up by the army and is set to be designed by Hermann Tilke. It is also targeting a MotoGP event as well. Liberty has a strained relationship with the city of Sao Paulo and the race promoters. The event is the least lucrative flyaway race in terms of the fee paid to the F1 organisation, but Sao Paulo insists that it has a contract with F1 until 2020 to keep the race at Interlagos. Additional reporting by Gustavo Faldon