Cascais may close the Estoril Circuit over safety and noise rules

The Cascais Municipal Council says it may be forced to close the Estoril Circuit if safety requirements and soundproofing rules continue to be ignored, even though the venue is listed for several international events in 2026.

According to the deputy mayor, Nuno Piteira Lopes, the circuit’s current condition shows serious structural failings, including grandstands that have been shut due to a risk of collapse, water ingress in the pit garages, and inadequate toilet facilities. “The Estoril Circuit is, today, a space that does not meet the minimum conditions to receive drivers, teams and the public,” Lopes told ECO.

He added that a court ruling requires the State, Parpública and the Estoril Circuit to carry out a series of upgrades, particularly acoustic barriers, which still have not been completed. “The State, Parpública and the Estoril Circuit have a judicial ruling that obliges them to make a series of investments, namely in acoustic barriers, which still have not been done. Perhaps, one of these days, the Cascais municipality itself will have to close the circuit because the noise law is not being complied with,” he stressed.

The council wants to negotiate with Parpública for a surface right of up to 75 years, with a total rent of €12.5 million, taking on the management and modernisation of the circuit. The proposal includes building new facilities such as a karting track, a restoration school for classic cars, a garage-museum, and a space dedicated to night-time entertainment. The deputy mayor said there are investors interested in supporting the project.

“The Parpública and the Estoril Circuit already have, from the council, all these commitments assumed, and in writing, and it is up to Parpública to take a decision, which is delayed, and it is not understood why it does not exist. Even if it is a no,” he concluded.

End of events?

Lopes also criticised the lack of investment from the State, arguing that privately owned circuits such as Portimão receive public support while Estoril-owned by the State-has been left in “abandonment”. In the mayor’s view, the current management threatens the circuit’s future, despite its status as a historic venue in Portuguese motorsport and as the track where Ayrton Senna claimed his first Formula 1 victory.

Despite these concerns, the circuit is still set to host events in 2026, including the Superbike World Championship, classic car races, and rounds of the Porsche Sprint Challenge Ibérica.

The municipality says that, if it takes control, it will safeguard the circuit’s sporting role, protect its legacy, and develop new complementary uses-without undermining the site’s automotive and competitive purpose.

“I have little doubt that, if it continues to be managed in the way it has been managed over recent decades, it will have no future at all.”

Nuno Piteira Lopes, President of Cascais Municipal Council