South Korea is once again trying to return to the Formula 1 calendar, this time with a project for an urban circuit in Incheon, which is starting to gain momentum in a competitive context.
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According to the local media Incheon Ilbo, a financial feasibility study has already given the green light to the project.
It revolves around an urban layout of 4.96 km located around Songdo Moonlight Festival Park, designed to accommodate top speeds of up to 337 km/h and capable of attracting between 300,000 and 400,000 spectators per weekend.
Incheon, ideal location?
The mayor of Incheon, Yoo Jeong-bok, has shown great enthusiasm, describing the city as an ideal place to host F1 and mentioning a decisive opportunity to strengthen urban competitiveness and the international influence of Incheon.
However, the project is far from unanimous politically. Some opponents denounce a showcase initiative, without solid foundations, pointing to the risk of a costly and difficult to make profitable project.
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This is not the first attempt by the country: South Korea has already hosted Formula 1 between 2010 and 2013 at the Yeongam circuit, before the event disappeared from the calendar due to lack of economic viability and sufficient interest. This precedent remains a major point of concern for Formula One Management.
Strategic interest
Today, even though interest in Asia remains strong, F1 is taking a much more cautious approach towards new projects. The calendar is already very dense, and priority is given to strategic and financially solid markets.
An arrival in 2028 is mentioned, but no concrete agreement exists at this stage with the F1 leaders. Moreover, no new race should be added in 2027, notably due to the rotation systems already envisaged, with for example Portimão potentially alternating with Zandvoort.
Despite a structured project and local political support, the chances of seeing Incheon join the calendar soon remain limited. Without solid financial guarantees and without strategic alignment with F1, the project risks following the same path as Yeongam: ambitious on paper, but hardly viable in reality.
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