F1 could return to country where Juan Manuel Fangio won four times if £4m-a-year driver is a success

Follow us on Google Discover

The expansion of the Formula 1 calendar has been a hot topic in recent years, as the sport continues to grow amid increased global interest.

Since the takeover from Liberty Media in 2017, there has been an additional four races on the calendar, including expansions in the Middle East with races in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and across the US with the Las Vegas and Miami Grands Prix.

F1 is set to add a race in Madrid in 2026, although this is still subject to the FIA homologating the Madring hybrid street circuit.

Imola is set to drop off the calendar, while a few other changes see an earlier Canadian GP to make way for Monaco moving to the first weekend in June, to help with regional grouping.

Now, there could be another race that returns to the fold if one driver manages to “achieve more” according to journalist Joe Saward.

Formula 1 could return to Argentina if Franco Colapinto improves results

F1 is not the only motorsport that is expanding its calendar, as MotoGP has recently announced that it will be holding a race in Buenos Aires in 2027.

It is a location that F1 has previously raced at, with Michael Schumacher winning the last race to be held in Argentina in 1998.

According to Saward, the race could return to the calendar if Franco Colapinto, currently on a £4m-a-year deal with Alpine, improves his results.

“MotoGP, which is now owned by Formula 1, has announced that it will host a race at the Autodrome in Buenos Aires in 2027,” wrote Saward.

“It is anticipated that if Franco Colapinto can achieve more in F1, there could be an Argentine Grand Prix in F1 in 2028.”

Juan Manuel Fangio is the most successful driver in Argentine Grand Prix

The most successful driver at the Argentine Grand Prix was Juan Manuel Fangio, who won the race a record four times between 1954 and 1957.

Damon Hill was also a multiple race winner, as was Emerson Fittipaldi, although the track did change throughout the years it was held.

The last race to be held at the Buenos Aires-based Autodromo Oscar y Juan Gálvez, which was won by Schumacher after a mistake from race leader David Coulthard.

If Colapinto can improve his results, he would drive up more interest in the country after Williams reported an influx of Argentine sponsors when they replaced Logan Sargeant last year.