A consortium is hoping to make Copenhagen the home of Formula 1 in the Nordic countries from 2020, as they push forward plans for a Danish Grand Prix street race.
Despite the raft of drivers that have come from Finland, a Swede in Marcus Ericsson and a Dane in Kevin Magnussen, Scandinavia has not seen an F1 race since Sweden in 1978 with fans having to travel to other races in Europe whether in Germany, Belgium or Hungary.
However, as new owners Liberty Media look to expand the current schedule, Helge Sander, former Danish Minister of Science, Technology and Development, and Lars Seier Christensen, ex-owner of former Lotus sponsor Saxo Bank are reportedly heading a group looking at addressing one of the key missed opportunities on the F1 map.
The consortium, which is believed to have the backing of several key Danish authorities, including the royal family, have made contact with the Formula One Group, led by CEO Chase Carey with first meetings taking place in Singapore.
“We have had some very positive meetings with Formula One Management and my feeling is that they would love to have a Grand Prix in Copenhagen,” said Sander to Motorsport.com.
A street circuit in the centre of the city has been put forward and was done in conjunction with former F1 driver and father to Kevin, Jan Magnussen as well as F1 circuit designer Hermann Tilke.
A major issue new races have had in recent years is attracting and maintaining interest, with even successful races like Singapore and Austin seeing drops in attendance after strong first years, but Christensen is adamant that would not be an issue with a Danish Grand Prix.
“We will have no problems selling tickets for a Grand Prix in Copenhagen,” he said. “For the Nordic countries and also for the north of Germany, Copenhagen will be the ‘local’ F1 circuit.”
There would still be challenges, however, as he admitted: “We’ll need both public and private investors for a project of this magnitude.”
