Thailand Moves Closer to F1 Race, Canada Locks in Longtime Future
Formula 1's prospective future calendar is looking a little more after some early schedule news.
The Morning Warmup
June 18, 2025
Good morning. Early chatter this week has revolved around some F1 schedule news and the world premier of the tour’s upcoming Hollywood blockbuster. Let’s talk racing.
Today’s Top Story
1) Canada set for F1 longevity, Thailand closing in on a race (F1)
Formula 1’s future calendar saw a couple key steps to open the week, with a venue continuing on and a prospective visit drawing one step closer to fruition.
Fresh off the end of its annual race weekend, Canada secured a four-year extension that will see Montreal’s Circuit Gilles Villeneuve continue to host the world’s most popular series through 2035.
The track has rich racing history in F1, having hosted F1 annually since its 1978 debut - a race won by modern namesake Gilles Villeneuve. There was brief concern over the race’s future, given complaints over logistics from F1 president Stefano Domenicali in 2024. But the 2025 edition was well-received and the race has been shifted to a late May date for 2026.
"In recent years, the promoter, Octane Racing Group, has made significant investments in the event, modernising infrastructure to meet the growing demands of F1 as the sport continues to expand globally,” an F1 statement read. "This investment will continue and be vital in continuing to enhance the event in the years ahead."
While Canada secured its long-term F1 future, Thailand took another step toward an entry on the series schedule in 2028. The Thai government agreed Tuesday to submit a $1.2 billion proposal for a future grand prix in Bangkok.
The news follows several months of discussion between F1 and the Thai government. Domenicali has been to visit both the former and current prime minister, as has Thai F1 driver Alex Albon. The track is anticipated to be a 3.54-mile circuit around the Chatuchak Park area north east of Bangkok’s city center.
More from The Race:
It has previously been reported by national media that the Thai government had already signed a memorandum of understanding with F1. The intention is for the race to be funded by the private sector with government money there as a back-up.
The main argument for an F1 race is that it fits in with Thailand's big investment in the tourism industry, which is key to the country's economy, with a target of 300,000 visitors over the usual three-day race weekend.
It is hoped to generate a value of 14billion baht per year, 1.4billion in tax revenue, a further 7billion in new investment - and around 8000 new jobs per year - and repay what has to be invested from the public sector from the first year.
(Source(s): Andrew Benson / BBC, Scott Mitchell-Malm / The Race)
A useful piece to track: Given all the F1 venue discussion, The Race has created an article tracking how long each track is slated to stay on the current calendar.
News and Notes
NASCAR
NASCAR’s Mexico City race weekend was largely successful. Will the city get another Cup race in 2026? (Jordan Bianchi / The Athletic)
Some negative comments about Mexico on a livestream last week netted Carson Hocevar a $50,000 fine internally from his team, Spire Motorsports. (Dustin Long / NBC Sports)
Brennan Poole will return to the Cup Series field this weekend at Pocono Raceway with NY Racing Team. (Landon Quesinberry / Frontstretch)
Here are the full entry lists for the Pocono race weekend. (Landon Quesinberry / Frontstretch)
Supercars ace Cam Waters could be set for a Truck Series return in the upcoming race at Lime Rock Park. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)
The Athletic’s Jeff Gluck shared his Mexico takeaways on Monday, touching on the joyous fans at the track, Daniel Suarez’s homecoming and Shane van Gisbergen’s dominance.
IndyCar
The decision to move the World Wide Technology Raceway race to Sunday evening proved fruitful, with an average of 1,012,000 spectators tuning in. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
IndyCar newcomer Prema Racing saw its best finish to date with Robert Shwartzman’s 10th-place run at Gateway. (Marshall Pruett / RACER)
The last stint didn’t work out in his favor, but Conor Daly thought he had a shot at victory heading into Sunday’s closing stages. (Christopher DeHarde / Frontstretch)
Two months into its relaunch after a complete revamp, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum has been exceeding projections. (David Malsher-Lopez / RACER)
F1
Some early takes:
The Athletic’s Luke Smith and Madeline Coleman enjoyed aspects and felt the movie was okay, though it had some flaws.
The Race’s Edd Straw found the movie visually impressive on track, but lacking in connection to the characters.
Motorsport sent a trio of writers. They found the storyline weak and some of the on-track action unrealistic.
Championship hopeful Lando Norris made another poor mistake in Canada. It could prove costly. (Luke Smith / The Athletic)
It took five hours to confirm George Russell’s win in the Canadian Grand Prix. Motorsport’s Ben Hunt called the wait an embarrassing moment for F1.
It was all Mercedes in an impressive Canada showing - a weekend where the team’s drivers showed what they can do with a strong car. (Madeline Coleman / The Athletic)
Red Bull spoke with F1 race director Rui Marques to express fears of rivals trying to tempt Max Verstappen into a penalty that could land him a race ban. (Jon Noble / The Race)
Former F1 driver Robert Kubica’s Le Mans victory was well received within the paddock. (Ed Hardy / Motorsport)
Other Open Wheel
A host of drivers have been added to Formula E’s Berlin rookie test at the Tempelhof track. Former F1 Academy standouts Abbi Pulling and Bianca Bustamante will be present, having signed as a Nissan simulator and rookie driver (Pulling) and Cupra Kiro development driver (Bustamante). Many F2 and F3 drivers are also expected. (Sam Smith / The Race)
Sports Cars
AF Corse’s No. 50 Ferrari 499P has been disqualified from its fourth-place finish in Le Mans due to a rear wing support that wasn’t in compliance with a deflection test. (John Dagys / Sportscar365)
Iron Dames has withdrawn from the upcoming Watkins Glen International race due to Michelle Gatting’s foot injury from Le Mans. (RJ O’Connell / Daily Sportscar)
Peter Auto and SRO Motorsports Group have launched a new GT3 Revival Series, focusing on FIA GT3 cars homologated from 2006 through 2013. (Graham Goodwin / Daily Sportscar)
Supercars
Supercars has made a format change for the Darwin Triple Crown Challenge. After years of requiring a driver to sweep the weekend to be declared to have earned the feat, Supercars will now award the Triple Crown to the competitor who scores the moist points across the weekend’s three race. (Stefan Bartholomaeus / Speedcafe)
Short Tracks
Frontstretch had writers at three big short track races between the CARS Tour and ASA STARS last weekend. Here are their takeaways:
Michael Massie was at the CARS Tour’s Dominion Raceway showdown. He touched on Mini Tyrrell’s emotional weekend, a tough time for Landen Lewis and Connor Hall’s return to form.
Moto
In what is essentially a switch between the two brands, Michelin will leave MotoGP and replace Pirelli as the tire manufacturer for the World Superbike Championship. (Simon Patterson / The Race)
With the Isle of Man TT in the rearview mirror, Peter Hickman revealed that a component failure led to the crash that knocked him out of contention in the event. (Simon Patterson / The Race)
Drag Racing
Former MMA great Randy Couture is no longer making his Pro Mod debut in the American Rebel Light Virginia NHRA Nationals, chasing instead to get more seat time. (Drag Illustrated)
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On Track
All Times ET
Wednesday, June 18
Dirt
Major Races
World of Outlaws Sprint Cars (Huset’s Speedway): 6:00 p.m., DirtVision
ASCoC NAPA OH Speedweek (Fremont Speedway): 6:00 p.m., FloRacing
USAC Eastern Storm (Bridgeport Speedway): 6:30 p.m., FloRacing
DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models (Quincy Raceways): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision
Other Offerings
Thunder on the Thruway (Fonda Speedway): 6:00 p.m., FloRacing
-
Thursday, June 19
Dirt
LOLMDS Lucas Oil Firecracker 100 (Lernerville Speedway): 5:45 p.m., FloRacing
Super DIRTcar Series (Lebanon Valley Speedway): 5:45 p.m., DirtVision
World of Outlaws Sprint Cars (Huset’s Speedway): 6:00 p.m., DirtVision
ASCoC NAPA OH Speedweek (Waynesfield Raceway Park): 6:00 p.m., FloRacing
USAC Eastern Storm (Big Diamond Speedway): 6:45 p.m., FloRacing
DIRTcar Summer Nationals Late Models (Lee County Speedway): 7:15 p.m., DirtVision
NARC Super Dirt Cup (Skagit Speedway): 8:45 p.m., FloRacing
Short Tracks
UARA National Series (Jennerstown Speedway): 6:20 p.m., FloRacing
Triple Crown Series (Thunder Road Int’l Speedbowl): 6:45 p.m., FloRacing
Number of the Day: 13
Last season’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway was atypically chaotic, with 13 DNFs out of 37 cars (35.14%). It was the most DNFs the longtime Cup venue has seen since 2012, when the final two Car of Tomorrow races saw significant mechanical failures and an average of 14.5 DNFs.