Bernie Ecclestone has revealed he is in discussions about hosting a Grand Prix on the streets of Las Vegas and has cast doubt on Formula One’s rumored return to Korea with a race in the country’s capital Seoul.

“Vegas say they are ready to go and it would be on The Strip for sure,” says Ecclestone. The Strip is the famous famous 4.2-mile stretch of South Las Vegas Boulevard which is lined with casino resorts, including the Bellagio and Caesars Palace.

A layout including The Strip would separate the Grand Prix from F1’s previous visits to Vegas in 1981 and 1982 when it raced on a temporary track in the Caesars Palace parking lot. A race on the streets would be more permanent and would do a better job of showing off the local landmarks.

“Vegas would be a fantastic addition to the F1 calendar and would be successful for so many people involved,” says F1 sponsorship agent Zak Brown. “It’s a great fit for the F1 brand and would draw a lot of interest from sponsors in one of the most important strategic markets for F1 -- America. Vegas as a city would benefit greatly from F1’s fan base who no doubt would spend a lot of money that weekend.”

A senior source in the United States racing scene adds that F1’s track designer Hermann Tilke has visited Vegas several times to design the layout of the course which indicates that the project is at an advanced stage. “Tilke has made a couple of site visits. I knew that if he had gone along there must be something to it,” says the source.

For the past few years one of the biggest drives in F1 has been to extend the reach of the sport in the lucrative US racing market which is dominated by NASCAR. A Grand Prix in Vegas would boost F1’s chances as it is a high profile location and would double the the number of races in the U.S.

In 2012, after a five year absence, F1 returned to America with the US Grand Prix in Austin, the capital of Texas, which is next up on this year’s calendar and takes place on Nov. 2.

“Vegas would be a great place for a Grand Prix and it is one of only two cities in the States that does not have to worry about cannibalizing a market, since every weekend is a big weekend with a different crowd. The other being New York,” says Tavo Hellmund, who founded the US Grand Prix in Austin and the Circuit of the Americas track where it is held. He is now bringing F1 back to Mexico City where it will race in 2015 after a 23-year absence. Las Vegas may join it but a Grand Prix in the New York area seems less likely.

A race on 3.2-miles of public roads in New Jersey was announced with great fanfare in October 2011 but has since been dropped from the F1 calendar twice as the organisers failed to raise the $100 million required to finish work on the track.

“In the end there’s a million countries that would like to have an F1 race, but they can’t afford it,” says Ecclestone. Korea was one of them.

The race there launched in 2010 but was dropped this year after repeated complaints about poor facilities and low attendance. A 3.5-mile track was built in Jeollanam-do, which is 200 miles from Seoul. It was located alongside a harbour promenade which was expected to be lined with shops, restaurants, cafés and exhibition facilities. However, many of them did not materialize as organizers struggled with the $250 million estimated construction cost of the track and the $20 million annual fee for the race.

It has been replaced with the Grand Prix of Europe in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, which will join the F1 calendar in 2016. Nevertheless, the failure of the Korean Grand Prix hasn’t dampened the country’s interest in F1 and it was recently reported that a street race in Seoul is being planned. “I know the guy that is promoting a race in Seoul,” says Ecclestone adding that “there are lots of people who want races. You don’t know who is serious until the contract is signed and the money is in the bank.”

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