China could have two F1 races with talks to add street race to Grand Prix calendar taking place
Following their 1000th race in the Asian nation, Formula One bosses are exploring options to expand to another city in China
FORMULA ONE are exploring options to add a second Chinese Grand Prix to the calendar, this time a street race.
F1's commercial boss Sean Bratches is set to meet with officials in various cities across the Asian country in a bid to lay foundations for another race.
The Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on Sunday celebrated the 1000th race in Formula One's history and now they are hoping that expansion elsewhere will help grow the market on the continent.
Bratches told : "There's meetings set up in each [city] with government officials to talk about identifying a second city to host a grand prix.
"In terms of interest we would be highly interested in a street race.
"It would be a nice juxtaposition to the purpose-built, extraordinary facility that have here [in Shanghai]. Our intent is to bring our show to the people."
Last weekend's running of the Chinese GP was its 16th since its introduction into the calendar in 2004.
Why not go to Hong Kong and race downtown or why not go to Beijing? I would love that.
Toto Wolff
And Liberty Media have been keen to expand to other markets since taking over in January 2017.
The first Vietnam race - held on a street circuit in the capital of Hanoi - will take place in 2020, while there have previously been talks about introducing a race in Miami to join the US Grand Prix in Austin.
But a second race in China is appealing to manufacturers due to its massive automobile market.
According to , Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: "I think China is one of the largest markets for us and is a great place.
"You will see all the major brands and OEMs activating much more in China than they did in the past.
"I think we have achieved the first step, which is to achieve a sell-out crowd in Shanghai.
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"Formula E is having two races, one in Sanya and one in Hong Kong. Why not go to Hong Kong and race downtown or why not go to Beijing? I would love that."
A second Chinese Grand Prix would be a seventh race in Asia - along with Vietnam, Bahrain, Singapore, Azerbaijan, Shanghai and Japan.
Meanwhile, street races are becoming more common for their flexibility to turn the roads into a Formula One meet, with Monaco the most famous of the five set to be in operation next year.
