Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who was elected towards the end of last year, has tweeted news that the country’s grand prix will move to a newly-built track in Rio.

Interlagos has been a well-loved circuit on the Formula 1 calendar since its introduction in 1990 and often throws up an exciting race – who could forget Max Verstappen vs Esteban Ocon just last year, or Lewis Hamilton snatching the title from home-favourite Felipe Massa in 2008. 

However, the circuit’s future has been in doubt recently, and its current contract to host F1 is set to expire after the 2020 season.

Bolsonaro doesn’t state when the move to Rio de Janeiro will happen, but he has claimed that the new circuit will be privately funded and will be named after the late, great Ayrton Senna.

According to BBC Sport, the president also claimed during a military ceremony that construction of the new track will take six to seven months and that keeping F1 in Sao Paulo was “no longer viable”.

As of yet there has been no comment from Formula 1 or its overlords Liberty Media on the situation. Would you be sad to see Interlagos go? And can a track be built in six or seven months?