SENIOR government sources yesterday revealed that Cyprus has become the latest country in a long list of hopefuls bidding to be included in the Formula 1 calendar.

Sources close to the Commerce Ministry told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that meetings were held with Formula 1 governing body FIA president Max Mosley and Ferrari Chairman Luca di Montezemolo in Italy on the possibility of a slot for Cyprus in the F1 calendar in the near future.

An F1 venue in Cyprus would generate huge revenue from tourism and advertising, and, according to the source, would do far more to boost revenue than the planned construction of a dozen 12 golf courses.

According to the source, F1 leaders Ferrari are reluctant to race on the island. However, the government is working hard to convince the FIA to make Cyprus a destination at least for testing.

“It would cost millions of pounds to construct an F1 circuit – the Bahrain circuit cost around £300 million – but the benefits would be worth it, even if we only construct a test track for teams like Ferrari,” the source said.

“We have been working hard to convince the FIA president and Ferrari that racing in Cyprus would be beneficial to them and their sponsors.

“A Formula 1 race would create huge revenue for the island in tourism and advertising and this is what we have been striving to do over the past few months.”

Racing Formula 1 in Cyprus could inject as much as £45 million into the country’s ailing tourism sector, by attracting up to 30-40,000 spectators.

In August this year, Turkey signed a seven-year deal to host a Formula 1 race in Istanbul from 2005.

It becomes the latest country in a long list of hopefuls that has finally put pen to paper with F1’s impresario Bernie Ecclestone.

It has been a relatively smooth process, which began in 2001 when the Turkish Automobile Federation announced that it would build an F1 circuit over the course of the following three years.

According to Ecclestone, a venue must demonstrate sufficient infrastructure and accommodation to win the bid.