A brand new circuit being constructed in Argentina could bid for a place on the F1 calendar in the near future, after track designers confirmed on Saturday that the plan had been to build the circuit with Formula One in mind.
The new 4.7km-long track is under construction in the town of Zarate, some 80km from the country's capital Buenos Aires.The excitingly-named Velociudad Speedcity is being constructed by Populus, the same design company responsible for Silverstone's recent wave of circuit modifications and improvements.
The same company is also working on a new F1-spec circuit in Mumbai, after the success of the first Indian Grand Prix at the Buddh International Circuit in 2011.
The circuit is set to be completed by 2014, and the designers have said that the track would aim for a Formula One race there in the future.
"The plan is for a circuit capable of delivering a Formula 1 event," Populus associate director John Rhodes told the Reuters news agency.
"Once the facility is there, then it's down to a promoter."
He added: "The issue is to have a high performance circuit capable of holding a MotoGP then add the necessary requirements for a Formula 1 race.
"The main 4.7 km circuit will be good for F1 and endurance races like Le Mans, it's a good, sensible length."
Construction on the brand new track began on Friday.
The Argentine Grand Prix has been part of the Formula One calendar on 21 occasions since 1953.
The most recent race took place in 1998 at the Buenos Aires track, won by Michael Schumacher in his Ferrari.
Currently, the F1 calendar appears to be at capacity, with 20 races planned for next season, and new events in New Jersey and Russia set to join in the near future.
Bernie Ecclestone has not mentioned any huge desire to see Argentina return, though has suggested his priorities are races in Mexico and South Africa.
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