5 Racetracks Built For F1 (That F1 Doesn't Race On)

While Formula 1 holds events across the globe, any country looking to add their name to the sport's calendar will first need a suitable racetrack. This can't just be any old track, either, since the FIA only allows circuits with a Grade 1 rating to be considered for F1 events. The list of criteria a circuit has to meet to be considered Grade 1 is an extremely long one, and spans everything from the design of particular track features to the medical staff that needs to be on hand during the race.

Designing, building, and then staffing such a circuit costs an obscene amount of money, but simply spending all that money doesn't guarantee that the FIA will actually choose to host a race there. There are a surprising number of FIA-certified Grade 1 tracks that Formula 1 doesn't visit, and some of them don't currently host any world-class racing at all. We've picked out five of the most notable, with some still having potential to host Grand Prix events in the future and others looking likely to remain out of the calendar.

A good Formula 1 circuit needs a safe, well-designed track layout, but it also needs to be accessible for fans. The Korea International Circuit in Yeongam, South Korea, ticked neither of those boxes. It was built more than 200 miles away from Seoul, the country's capital, which was a puzzling decision to begin with. To make things worse, construction of the circuit was completed much later than planned, with attendees of the inaugural 2010 Korean F1 Grand Prix finding that the grandstands for spectators were still being built the day before the event.

An issue with the surface at Turn 16 was also fixed during the first race weekend, but drivers generally still weren't particularly positive about the circuit. The layout of the pitlane exit also caused safety concerns, although it was changed during later events. Despite a rocky first Grand Prix, plans remained in place to further develop the area surrounding the track for the following years. However, these plans never turned into reality, and after a few more disappointing events, the circuit was dropped from F1's schedule after 2013. Since then, it has not hosted any further top-level international racing events.

An F1 showcase event was held in Korea featuring Valtteri Bottas in 2025, although it took place at the AMG Speedway, not the Korea International Circuit. For now, there are no plans for the country to return to Grand Prix hosting duties in the future.

The first Middle Eastern country to host a Formula 1 event was Bahrain, with its inaugural Grand Prix taking place in 2004, back when F1 cars still used V10 engines. Since then, several of its neighbors have also hosted rounds of the series, with the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia all featuring in the 2025 calendar alongside Bahrain. Kuwait has never hosted a Formula 1 event, but it does have a circuit that would be up to the task. Kuwait Motor Town has been open since 2019, and was designed by Hermann Tilke, the same designer who has penned several of the other circuits featured here.

Since its opening, the Kuwait Motor Town circuit has held various domestic and regional events, but it has yet to secure a contract for any major global series. It has the potential to stage events for a wide variety of motorsports as well as single-seaters, with the circuit including layouts for rallycross, motocross, and MotoGP. As such, there's a good chance that Kuwait's only Grade 1 circuit will eventually feature in a global motorsports series, even if it doesn't end up making it onto the F1 calendar.

Another Hermann Tilke-designed circuit that meets Grade 1 standards but doesn't host any world-level events is the Igora Drive circuit in Russia. It was originally planned to form part of the F1 calendar in 2023, with then-F1 President Stefano Domenicali saying in a 2021 press release that he was "impressed by St Petersburg," the city nearest to the circuit, and he "believed that the Russian Grand Prix at Igora Drive will be an incredible event."

The event never took place, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 cut Russia off from the world, both diplomatically and economically. In response to the invasion, other global powers imposed sanctions against the country that affected everything from the International Space Station to shipping routes. With the conflict still ongoing at the time of writing, it seems extremely unlikely that Igora Drive will host global motorsports events of any kind in the foreseeable future.

India hosted three Formula 1 events between 2011 and 2013 at the Buddh International Circuit, but an argument over the organizers' tax bill led to its eventual cancellation. The circuit is located in the state of Uttar Pradesh, and at the time, Indian states were allowed to set their own tax laws regarding sports and entertainment events.

Sports events were eligible for more tax breaks, while entertainment events incurred a bigger tax bill. When local authorities insisted that the Formula 1 weekend was actually an entertainment event and not a sporting event, organizers were left with a tax bill that made it impossible to continue to host the series.

Although there have been recent calls for authorities to invest in plans for F1 to return, no commitments have been made to date. The circuit did briefly step back onto the world stage when it hosted a round of the MotoGP championship in 2023, but it was scrapped again for 2024. Buddh still hosts local and national events, but for now, hopes of an F1 comeback remain a long way from reality.

Unlike the other tracks here, Fuji Speedway isn't hampered by geopolitics, bureaucracy, or its location. It's simply been overlooked in favor of a different Japanese circuit, with F1 hosting duties being awarded to Suzuka Circuit instead. While a handful of countries have hosted multiple stops of the series — in 2026, only the U.S. and Spain will feature multiple times — Japan has only secured one spot.

Fuji isn't devoid of global motorsports events, though, with its 2026 calendar including a round of the World Endurance Championship. For the uninitiated, that's the same championship that includes the legendary 24 Hours of Le Mans, and sees marques like Ferrari, Aston Martin, and BMW compete across two racing classes for victory. The importance of hosting WEC shouldn't be overlooked, but for F1 fans, it isn't a substitute for seeing the likes of Norris, Verstappen, and Piastri on track. Unfortunately, while Suzuka remains on the calendar, it isn't likely that we'll see Fuji hosting Formula 1 anytime soon.