Argentina is on the verge of securing its return to the Formula 1 calendar next year, the country's president said on Wednesday.
Cristina Fernandez said the country has agreed to a three-year deal that will see grand prix racing return to the South American nation in November 2013. She said the race will be hosted at a circuit in seaside resort Mar del Plata, 250 miles from Argentina's capital of Buenos Aires. There is currently no circuit in Mar del Plata.
"We are closing [the deal]," Fernandez said. "For three years, in 2013, 2014 and 2015 in the city of Mar del Plata. For us it will be very important because, after soccer, racing is the second-favorite sport for Argentineans. Getting Formula 1 back to Argentina is something we deserve in order to be able to show the things we have."
Argentina, which hosts the Dakar rally and a round of the World Rally Championship, last hosted a Formula 1 grand prix back in 1998 (ABOVE) in Buenos Aires.