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>2020 Brazilian Grand Prix will be held in Rio The 2020 Brazilian Grand Prix will be held in Rio de Janeiro, ending a three-decade-long association with Sao Paulo, the country’s President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Wednesday. “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,” Bolsonaro said during a military ceremony in the city. “There was state assistance (from the local government) in Sao Paulo, with a huge debt. Keeping F1 there was no longer viable, so they turned towards Rio.” Bolsonaro also signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the new circuit (pictured above) at the Deodoro military base in the west of the city. Deodoro was used as a venue for some events at the 2016 Olympics, including equestrian, field hockey and modern pentathlon. Bolsonaro promised the new track would be built “without public money” and that it would generate up to 7,000 new jobs. The Brazilian race was held in Rio in 1978, and then from 1981 to 1989, before returning to its original home at the Interlagos circuit the following year. According to local reports, representatives for F1 owners Liberty Media held talks with local officials in Rio last November over a possible relocation of the race from Sao Paulo. The estimated value of the concession to build and operate the venue for 35 years is 697-million reais (US$177-million), according to information from Rio’s city hall. It estimates the track will have an economic impact of 626-million reais annually. Autodromo José Carlos Pace (aka Interlagos) has hosted the Brazilian Grand Prix 36 times, while Autódromo do Rio de Janeiro in Jacarepagua has hosted the Grand Prix ten times.<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<doc-sep>
Rio has won the battle to host the Brazilian Grand Prix from 2020 onwards with the country’s president announcing the circuit would be built in honour of F1 legend Aryton Senna. Next year’s Formula One Grand Prix in Brazil will be held in Rio de Janeiro, ending a three-decade long association with Sao Paulo, President Jair Bolsonaro said. Bolsonaro also announced the circuit would be named after Brazilian F1 legend Ayrton Senna. “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,” Bolsonaro said during a military ceremony in the city. “There was state assistance (from the local government) in Sao Paulo, with a huge debt. Keeping F1 there was no longer viable, so they turned towards Rio.” In a tweet, the president added: “After our victory in the elections, Formula 1, which would leave Brazil, decided not only to remain, but also to build a new racetrack 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.” Mock up of how the new F1 track in Rio might look Bolsonaro also signed a memorandum of understanding for the construction of the new circuit at the Deodoro military base in the west of the city. Deodoro was used as a venue for some events at the 2016 Olympics, including equestrian, field hockey and modern pentathlon. Bolsonaro promised the new track would be built “without public money” and that it would generate up to 7,000 new jobs. The Brazilian race was held in Rio in 1978, and then from 1981 to 1989, before returning to its original home at the Interlagos circuit the following year. According to local reports, representatives for F1 owners Liberty Media held talks with local officials in Rio last November over a possible relocation of the race from Sao Paulo.