Egypt is the latest Middle Eastern destination to make its intentions known about hosting a Formula One race in the future.

Ashaf Mahmoud, Boss of the Egyptian Motor Sport Corporation, was a guest at the Austrian Grand Prix on the weekend to evaluate how a race is run.

And he said the proposals for Egypt to host a race were structured and well advanced.

‘We have been working on the project since July 1998 and we now have the full approval and support of the Egyptian government,’ Mahmoud said.

‘The feedback from (F1 Boss) Bernie (Ecclestone) has been positive and he has been to Egypt. We are considering sites on the Red Sea coast. But Cairo as a city has a charm in itself.’

Mahmoud has suggested that the circuit be placed in a position that would enable the great pyramids to be used as the ultimate backdrop.

‘The most preferred site is on the outskirts of greater Cairo, on the west side of the Nile about 10 minutes drive from the Pyramids which would be in view for television,’ he said.

‘There are no archaeological problems with the site.’

Mahmoud said he had come up with a provisional circuit design that was roughly in the outline of the sphinx, the figure in Egyptian mythology that has the body of a lion and the head of a man, ram, or hawk.

‘I have my own design which is not yet approved,’ he said. ‘It is the Sphinx shape and it looks like a very fast circuit but I don't know from a commercial and technical view if it's feasible.’

Egypt joins Lebanon, Dubai, and Bahrain as serious Middle Eastern F1 candidates.

The earliest Egypt could hope to stage a round of the Championship would be in 2005, Mahmoud said.