Why we could be heading that way – By Joe Murphy
The recent confirmation that Formula 1 would be adopting a 24 race calendar for 2023 has drawn both praise and criticism from spectators. Fans of the sport would always welcome more action and a potential longer season. However, some personnel including teams and drivers have raised concerns about demanding too much from race crews.
However, at this moment in time, 24 races seems conservative and we could be heading for multiple more in the coming years. Here’s why…
The 24 races, including the likes of Spa and Monaco, are now confirmed to be going nowhere anytime soon. The recent additions of Las Vegas and Qatar are money grabs that are a certainty to remain on the calendar going forward.
However, F1 is desperate for an African adventure and once Russia sort themselves out, you can bet that the Sochi cash flow will be too much for the FIA to turn down. There’s 26 immediately, so where could we head for the remaining four?
London is already a great street circuit for Formula E and could very easily run alongside Silverstone. Germany has hosted some of the best races of the last decade and there was huge disappointment when Hockenheim was removed from the calendar. Then there’s the curious case of India. You just know that the higher-ups in the sport want to capitalise on the middle class Indian market and will therefore be desperate to add the country with the soon to be largest population, to the equation. Finally, the FIA has shown its love for the United States with three races already confirmed for the country from next season. Who is to say that they wouldn’t add a New York Street Circuit Spectacular to the agenda. Alternatively, the East Coast is equally capable of putting on a show in the rught circumstances.
To make transitions easier, they could approach the calendar in a more methodical way. Starting once again in Australia, before heading over the Middle East, East to Western Europe before working their way down the Americas to potentially end in Brazil.
Nothing but conjecture for now. But it wouldn’t really be that shocking to see the layout of Formula 1 be very different in a few years time.
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