Cascais, Lisbon, Dec. 17, 2025 (Lusa) - The Mayor of Cascais, in the Lisbon region, has proposed taking over the management of the Estoril Motor Racing Circuit, with the aim of working with private investors to bring Formula 1 back to the old circuit, and has indicated the Government's willingness to talk to the local authority.
"The council has proposed to the state business holdings manger, Parpública, that it take over the management of this strategic asset for a period of up to 75 years, in return for a fixed rent of €12.5 million," said Nuno Piteira Lopes (PSD).
Speaking to Lusa on Wednesday, the mayor of Cascais council added that, with the transfer of the surface rights to the circuit, "the council retains the ability", together with private investors, "to come up with a plan" to "invest in that strategic asset".
"Over the last 12 months, more than one group has demonstrated openness, willingness and capacity to make these investments together with the Cascais council, and with the council as a partner," assured Piteira Lopes, confirming that the investment could be around €150 million, as he revealed on Monday to the Jornal de Negócios newspaper.
The mayor stressed that "the investment is limited to the Estoril circuit and does not include the construction of housing," but only "more facilities."
A few days before the last local elections, the Cascais council announced in a statement that at a meeting with the secretary of state for Tourism, Trade and Services, Pedro Machado, the intention to acquire the facility was discussed.
"In 2026, it will be 30 years since the last Grand Prix was held in Estoril. At that time, we will restart a new phase of this legendary world circuit, with the local authority taking over the management of this facility," said the then vice-mayor and mayoral candidate, Nuno Piteira Lopes, quoted in the statement.
For the newly elected mayor, the racetrack, which opened in 1972, must "fulfil the purpose for which it was built, namely car and motorbike racing" and "can add other features that add value in the motor area, such as a museum/garage for classic cars, professional training courses in classic car restoration, and a karting track".
"And also a large nightlife hub that could be created by exploiting and using grandstands A and B, similar to what already happens" with the 2001 nightclub, and "have three, four, five more nightlife venues in that location," he added.
The mayor said he was "highly convinced" that it will be possible for Formula 1 to return to Estoril, "if Parpública decides soon whether or not it is available to concession the asset and the respective surface rights to the local authority once and for all".
In 2015, the Cascais council, then chaired by Carlos Carreiras (PSD), attempted to purchase the racetrack for around €5 million, but the deal with Parpública was rejected by the Court of Auditors.
However, on September 2023, the Judicial Court of the District of Lisbon West ruled that all events at the racetrack must comply with legal noise limits, with the exception of "official sports competitions organised by national and international sports federations".
According to Piteira Lopes, the obligation to implement noise reduction measures "should already have been fulfilled", but both Parpública and Circuito do Estoril, the company that owns the racetrack, "have demonstrated more than once throughout this time that they have no interest in investing in this strategic asset for the local authority and the country".
In view of the lack of redevelopment, the Social Democrat questioned "whether Parpública and the Government itself are comfortable with the fact that they have a strategic asset that belongs to everyone" and "is public, in which there is no investment, and are channelling all the Government's investments exclusively into a private asset in Portimão (the Algarve International Autodrome) for the same purpose".
The government announced on Tuesday that the Algarve International Racetrack in Portimão will once again host the Formula 1 Grand Prix in 2027 and 2028.
Following the announcement, Piteira Lopes assured that Cascais continues "to wait for Parpública to decide on the surface rights of Estoril" in order to "launch the international public tender as soon as possible" to choose the local authority's partner, and that "the deputy minister for territorial cohesion, Castro Almeida, has also confirmed that the government is available to talk to Cascais".
Parpública is a Portuguese state-owned company with exclusively public capital, which acts as an instrument of the State to manage shareholdings in companies, support reprivatisation processes, manage public real estate assets and provide technical support to the Ministry of Finance, acting as a holding company for the State's shareholdings.
LFS/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
