The fact that the news came a few weeks after neighbouring Austria agreed on a deal to run its race until 2030 was perhaps not a coincidence, as both announcements reflect a growing trend for circuits to secure long-term futures.
In both cases, there was no big hurry to extend those contracts. As recently as March, Red Bull-owned Austrian promoter Projekt Spielberg had signed a deal that ran to 2027 before adding a further three years just three months later. Similarly, Hungary was already guaranteed a race until 2027 when it added another five years to the deal.
Both arrangements come on the heels of a series of extended contracts for flyaway races that have established a trend for looking at the long term. One of the first was for Montreal, whose deal to run to 2029 was signed in 2017, early in Liberty Media's ownership. The loss of two events to COVID has subsequently pushed that out to 2031.
That was followed by something of a lull but, on Stefano Domenicali's watch, such arrangements have become more commonplace. The current trend was perhaps kick-started by Saudi Arabia, whose 10-year deal running to 2030 was agreed in 2020.
That was followed by Qatar, which around the time that it stepped in as a last-minute replacement on the COVID-hit 2021 schedule agreed a 10-year deal to run from 2023 to 2032. Shortly afterwards, Abu Dhabi signed a new contract that runs to 2030, and that was followed by Singapore going to 2028, Australia to 2035 and Bahrain to 2036.
Las Vegas is a little different in that the event is an F1 promotion, but the deal with the city runs for 10 years, taking the event to 2032.
So why this rush to sign such long contracts? It's not difficult to see the appeal to both parties. F1 is currently on a high, thanks to the huge boost provided by Drive to Survive, and as CEO Domenicali and Liberty Media boss Greg Maffei are always keen to point out, there's a long list of countries and circuits that would like to join the party.
Source: Autosport