‘Of course not’ – How Max Mosley tried to convince the Macau Grand Prix to upgrade to a Formula One race
- Former FIA boss was impressed by the 6.12km Guia circuit and wanted it to host F1 races
- Macau Grand Prix organisers stuck to their guns, insisting their race was ‘a completely different product’
Max Mosley was a persuasive figure in the world of motor racing but even his influence was not enough to convince Macau Grand Prix organisers to upgrade the demanding Far East classic to a Formula One race back in the 1990s.
Mosley, the former president of motorsport’s world governing body the FIA who died aged 81, had a fondness for the Macau race.
The Englishman was impressed by the demanding 6.12km Guia circuit during a visit to the race in 1993 and thought the circuit was ideal to host a round of the F1 championship.
The chairman of the Macau Grand Prix organising committee at the time, Joao Manuel Costa Antunes, revealed in an interview with the Post in 1998 that Mosley had spoken to him, requesting for the Macau to be upgraded.
Antunes, however, said the move wasn’t possible, describing the annual Formula Three showpiece as a “completely different product”.
Macau organisers happy to stick with tried and tested formula
“We have had opportunities to host a Formula One race [in the past]. Even in 1993 when Max Mosley visited our facilities, he asked: “Why don’t you host a Formula One race?’ and I said ‘Of course not’. The roads are too narrow at certain parts. We never competed for Formula One because we’re a different product,” said Antunes at the time.
Antunes hinted that Macau could have pressed a case to host a Formula One race if it had wanted to. The Macau Grand Prix hosted its first Formula Three race in 1983 – when it was won by the late, great Ayrton Senna – and the Macau race later became recognised as the FIA Intercontinental Cup for Formula Three.
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Antunes said upgrading the race had never really crossed his mind: “We have been the Formula Three race for many years. The Formula Three race has always been part of an 11-race programme over the weekend of racing.”
