While Red Bull Racing might be grabbing all of the trophies and headlines for now, Ferrari remains the biggest and most well-known team in Formula One racing. The Scuderia may have fallen on tough times since Lewis Hamilton came to the fore in 2008, but there’s hope for the future, and the fandom continues to be strong around the world.
This even extends to the Republic of Ireland. Now, the nation doesn’t have much of a storied history in Formula One racing, but there’s certainly a great amount of interest in the sport on the Emerald Isle. As recently as 2019, a new club opened up dedicated to following their favorite F1 team, Scuderia Ferrari, being the culmination of a tremendous amount of support for the motorsport. So, what about a Grand Prix in Dublin?
A love of F1 across Ireland
Founded just four years ago, the official Scuderia Ferrari Club based in Cork continues to go from strength to strength, proving a strong following for the prestigious motorsport and team in Ireland. This year, the club traveled across Ireland to host watch parties, including for the Bahrain, Imola, Spanish, British, and Belgian Grand Prix.
As an official club, there are membership fees, but they also bring many benefits, such as club store discounts, discounted tickets to races and museums, and club trips to a couple of Grand Prix weekends each year. Affection for the sport runs far deeper than the Scuderia Ferrari Club, though, with F1 products even permeating one of the most popular forms of digital entertainment.
As showcased by BonusFinder, a company that teaches players about the best platforms and bonuses, Ireland is buzzing with new and inventive online casinos. One of these is the 4.7-star Gate777, which not only offers no-deposit free spins, but also features the popular F1 slot, Force 1. The even higher-rated King Billy, which also has a favorable bonus, has two formula racing games: Speed Heroes and 24 Hour Grand Prix.
These F1 games are accompanied by several other motorsports-themed slots, which reflects the popularity of the umbrella of sports in Ireland. Under Motorsport Ireland, autocross, hill climb racing, karting, rally, rallycross, circuit racing, and eSport racing can all be competed at a national level to earn Ireland Championships. The competition is fierce, and the top events regularly draw grand crowds.
Could Ireland be returning to world-class formula racing?
Way back in the mid-00s, around the time that power shifted away from Ferrari at the front of the F1 grid, there were grand plans to create a “World Cup of Motorsports.” The A1 Grand Prix pitted national teams against one another, with the second season being won by current Haas driver Nico Hülkenberg for Germany. In the 2008/09 season, which would prove to be A1’s last, Adam Carroll won the title for Ireland.
Now, there are reportedly plans to revive the A1GP, backed by the man behind London’s winning Summer Olympic Games bid, Sir Keith Mills. Perhaps it could inspire another return to top-end formula racing for Ireland, but in the meantime, the nation’s fans will have to hope for more one-off events.
In January of this year, Red Bull brought its Showrun event to Dublin, showcasing David Coulthard in the RB7. In 2012, Jenson Button and McLaren also put on a show run in Dublin. As for an actual Grand Prix coming to Ireland, though, ambitious plans were proposed in the 90s, but they were seemingly ignored by the taoiseach.
Perhaps, given the success of the club, Ferrari will opt to stage a show run in Dublin in the future, but for now, Irish fans can tour the country watching Grand Prix events as part of an official group.
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