What F1 tracks could replace Zandvoort after 2026?

It was announced earlier this month that Zandvoort would hold its final Formula 1 Dutch Grand Prix in 2026.

With the current calendar seeming to be fixed at 24 races per year, this leaves a space for another track to host a GP in only a couple of years’ time.

Will we see a new track make its debut on the F1 calendar? Or will old favourites make a comeback?

Rwanda

A key contender for a future Formula 1 race is Rwanda, with the country formally announcing its bid to hold an race earlier this month.

Rwanda hosted the FIA Prize Giving Ceremony in Kigali on 13 December, and Max Verstappen also served his community service in Rwanda for swearing in a Singapore GP press conference, where he attended a grassroots motorsports development event.

Talks have been in progress to bring F1 to Rwanda for a while, and Alexander Wurz is designing a track to be located near the capital city of Kigali.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said earlier this year that Rwanda was “serious” and had “presented a good plan” for the prospects of holding a grand prix there in the future.

F1 has not raced in Africa since 1993, when the last South African GP was held at Kyalami.

Drivers have called for F1 to visit Africa again, including Lewis Hamilton, who said: “I think having a grand prix there, it would really be able to highlight just how great the place is and bring in tourism and all sorts of things. Why are we not on that continent?”

Max Verstappen also said: “I really think we need a race in Africa. We basically race on every other continent already, so I think that’s the next step for Formula 1. Formula 1 already has a history in South Africa, so that would be a great addition to the Formula 1 calendar.”

Kyalami

Kyalami is the South African track where F1 raced between 1967-1985 and 1992-1993 as the South African Grand Prix.

Ricardo Patrese, Brabham leads the field at the start

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Kyalami would seem a logical place for F1 to go, given its established nature as a Formula 1 track.

Earlier this year, ex-F1 driver David Coulthard visited the track, taking to the asphalt in the 2011 RB7, and also did a show run in Johannesburg.

“To have a true world championship, you should be on this continent,” he said. “I believe in the interest and the desire and if the people that need to put signature on paper can find an agreement, then yeah, we’re ready to come.”

While Kyalami does not currently hold FIA Grade 1 certification, the level needed to host F1 races, if the track was to reach this by 2027, there’s a chance F1 could return to the track in replacement of Zandvoort – the first F1 race to be held in Africa for 34 years.

Istanbul

F1 hasn’t visited Turkey since 2021, when Valtteri Bottas took the victory ahead of Verstappen and Sergio Perez.

The track is situated in Istanbul Park and made its debut on the calendar in 2005, before a hiatus between 2011-20, when it made a brief return during the COVID-hit campaigns.

Earlier this year, FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to discuss F1 returning to Turkey.

Ben Sulayem said: “Istanbul Park is a modern circuit which is popular with drivers while the city of Istanbul is a thriving metropolis which would welcome a return of Formula 1 with open arms.”

Can Bilim Egitim Kurumlari A.S took over from previous leaseholders Intercity and will be the operators for the next 30 years, keen to bring Turkey back to the F1 calendar.

Qiddiya

Earlier this year, plans for the new Speed Park Track in Qiddiya, Saudi Arabia, were revealed, with many never-before-seen features.

Qiddiya City track rendering

Photo by: Qiddiya Media

Set amongst huge rock formations, the track includes an uphill section to be held high above the ground, and is surrounded by various amusements, such as rollercoasters and a water park.

Multiple drivers spoke in favour of the track, such as Lando Norris, who said: “I’ve seen the video and the preview, and it looks pretty crazy. You have a lot of places which are nowhere near as lively and as fun. So, if you want people to be attracted to the sport in general, you don’t want it just to be a track in the middle of nowhere that no one goes to.”

Construction of the site is underway and could be completed by 2027. This might come a little too late to immediately replace Zandvoort, but it would be a contender to join the calendar in place of the current Saudi Arabian GP track in Jeddah.

Buenos Aires

With the replacement of Logan Sargeant after the Dutch GP with young Argentinian driver Franco Colapinto at Williams, F1 saw a huge influx of Argentinian fans.

However, F1 hasn’t been to Argentina since 1998 and despite Colapinto not being on the 2025 grid, it hasn’t stopped interest in grand prix racing returning to the nation of F1’s first world champion Juan Manuel Fangio.

Argentina’s former vice president Daniel Scioli revealed they were starting to work on possibly bringing F1 back to Argentina, meeting with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, but mentioned no concrete timeline.

“We are starting to work on the possibility of bringing Formula 1 back to Argentina,” Scioli said. “There is a lot of hard work to be done in order to reach the objective. We have to work on the racetrack, on all the requirements of an event as sophisticated as this one.”

After a 26-year absence from the calendar, a return in 2026 may be optimistic. But if Colapinto was able to make his way back onto the grid with a full-time drive in the near future, demands for a return in his home country could increase.

Hockenheim

With a new major German manufacturer joining the grid in 2026, when Sauber is fully rebranded as Audi, there will no doubt be enthusiasm for F1 to return to Germany.

Despite being the second-most successful nation in terms of wins, Germany has not hosted a race since 2019 at Hockenheim.

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes AMG F1 W10, and Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing RB15, prepare to lead the field away at the start

Photo by: Andy Hone / Motorsport Images

It was reported by German media earlier this year that the emodrom investor group would invest €250million in the track across the next 5-10 years.

Managing director Tim Brauer said: “Of course, we are also thinking about Formula 1. But we approach such considerations with great caution. We will not embark on any financial adventures, but we will also try to find models for how we can bring Formula 1 back to Germany.”

Barcelona

The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya has held the Spanish Grand Prix since its construction in 1991.

However, it was announced in January of this year that the Spanish GP would make the move to Madrid from the 2026 season, due to be held at a hybrid 3.4-mile track in the outskirts of the city.

While it seems unlikely, if no other track was to present itself soon enough to slot itself for the 2027 season, F1 could make a return to the circuit, even if only as a placeholder.

No track

Of course, there is the possibility that F1 will choose to have one fewer round on the calendar, given almost half the year’s weekends are currently occupied by grands prix. The timetable is strenuous and takes drivers and team personnel into multiple different timezones across five continents.

At the start of the 2024 season, multiple drivers spoke out against the busy calendar, including Carlos Sainz, who said: “I really hope it just doesn’t go much higher than 24, because if not, I think it’s going to be very tricky for everyone.”