The mayor of Barranquilla Jaime Pumarejo wants his city to stage a grand prix in the coming years, saying the “process is progressing favourably” but admitting “there is still a lot of work to be done”.
“It is a real, palpable possibility,” Pumarejo told Colombian newspaper El Heraldo.
“It is a financially sustainable project that brings investment to the city by being promoted by the private sector.
“It is not yet a reality, but we are in the race, and we hope to reach the finish line. We don’t want to raise false expectations yet.
“If it is signed, we could be talking about 2024 or 2025 and it would be signed, hopefully, for 10 years.”
Initial plans for a circuit layout have already been drawn up in the metropolitan area of Barranquilla, which is located on the coast of the Caribbean Sea, around 1,000km from Colombia’s capital, Bogota.
“Two semi-urban routes have been identified and approved, a plan A and a plan B,” Pumarejo added.
“In one of the routes, the river is the main protagonist, but both are within the metropolitan area.”
F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali reportedly visited Barranquilla following the recent Mexico City Grand Prix to see the plans for himself.
If plans for a Caribbean Grand Prix went ahead it would see two races take place in South America, adding to the Sao Paulo Grand Prix in Brazil.
F1 has enjoyed a recent expansion into the Americas, with Maimi making its debut earlier this year and Las Vegas featuring on a record-breaking 24-round calendar in 2023.
Other new venues to have joined F1 in the Liberty Media era include Saudi Arabia and Qatar in the Middle East.
