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Rio F1 racetrack plans add fuel to Brazil deforestation row: Most of city’s last flatland area along with 180,000 trees would be destroyed if project goes ahead

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  1. sron
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    Brazil already has an F1 grade track in Sao Paulo highly rated by both drivers and fans, and the new project has been criticised by 6-time champion Lewis Hamilton. It will destroy most of Rio's...

    Brazil already has an F1 grade track in Sao Paulo highly rated by both drivers and fans, and the new project has been criticised by 6-time champion Lewis Hamilton. It will destroy most of Rio's last remaining forested area.

    It has a political aspect to it too:

    But the pressure is on for Rio Motorpark, a consortium led by US holding Rio Motorsports, to take Brazil’s annual grand prix from its rival track in São Paulo – a prize [President] Bolsonaro could then rub in the face of the São Paulo state governor, João Doria, a bitter rival. There’s a “99% chance, or more, of us having Formula One in Rio de Janeiro from 2021,” the president said last year after meeting the Formula One chief executive, Chase Carey.

    3 votes