When F1 was brought into new ownership in 2017, it was hoped that the times of chasing money were over, and that the new bosses, who knew a thing or two about marketing, would focus on growing the sport, and not just grabbing cash. In some ways, that has been the case, and the results speak for themselves, but whilst the expansion of the calendar is arguably growing the series, is it actually a net gain overall, or is it just Liberty Media trying to get over the losses through Covid?
For many years, through the 2000s and early 2010s, the F1 calendar was a fairly stable 16, 17 or 18 races, most of which stuck around for a long time, and provided a stable base for the sport. At the time it was the perfect number, as it kept fans interested, and gave them a full season to enjoy, without impacting too much on those taking part in the racing. Towards the end of Bernie’s reign over the sport, we began to see the calendar expanding, and also some classic events being replaced with ones which could pay more.
Races like Sochi and Abu Dhabi, gave us a hint of what was to come, with both tracks not providing great racing, but being safe on the calendar, just thanks to the cash they had. For the most part though, the calendar had good races, and more importantly, wasn’t stretching the participants too thinly across the season. 2019, the final normal year before the pandemic, had 21 races with a good strong placing in Europe, as well as the iconic fly away races.
During the pandemic, it was understandable that F1 did everything necessary to allow races to go ahead, with double headers and new/old tracks hosting F1. Some of the unexpected venues worked very well, with Mugello and Portimao producing amazing spectacles, although maybe lacking the overtaking we would like to see. Turkey and Imola took up more permanent roles, returning in 2021, and would be welcome again in the future, as we will see this weekend for Imola.
So, now we come to the present, where we are beginning to really see Liberty Media’s plans for the future of F1. As I mentioned at the start, some of the circuits that F1 has agreed to go to, are severely questionable, most of all Saudi Arabia. I know that F1 says it is about forcing change on those countries, and that by going there, it may help that process, but it is not a good look for F1 at all, especially after the events around the race in Saudi Arabia this year! Don’t even get me started on Vietnam, which was just a shambles!
The other major change for 2022, was the Miami Grand Prix, a brand new street circuit, around the Hard Rock stadium. In some ways, this is an excellent move, to bring the racing to the fans, and hosting a race in a venue like that will be great publicity for the sport. On one hand, this shows the knowledge of the new owners, of catering to the audience, and opening up the sport for the casual fans. For the most part I am for this event, for exactly these reasons, my only concern is the length of contract, 10 years, for a race that we don’t even know works yet! Which again points to money grabbing.
Where I start to struggle to understand where F1 is going, is the announcement of a second street race in the US, around Las Vegas. Having both these events happen each year surely can’t work, they are both trying to fill the same market, of a flashy event to bring in new fans, and get America talking about F1. So, by having both, they will effectively be hurting each other. Don’t get me wrong, the US market is potentially huge for F1, but is three races worth it? To be fair to F1, and give them some credit, the race at Zandvoort was a huge success, and shows they do listen to the fans.
This leads on to the bigger issue with where Liberty Media is taking the calendar, the number of races. It sounds like 25 races will soon be the norm for F1, with it potentially getting even bigger in the future, to as many as 30! To me, this is simply too much, not just for the sake of the teams and officials, who will have no break all year, but for the fans too! You can have too much of a good thing. I remember at the end of 2020, after having so many races back to back, I was almost getting sick of F1, although that may just be because I watch too much coverage each weekend! If we have 25 or 30 races, each event will be less important, and the excitement will reduce, and most of all the race wins will feel less important to the winner.
NASCAR may have 36 races a year, but that is a national series with no borders or customs, and even then, a lot of the fans complain about there being too many races. It just feels like F1 is making up for the huge losses they had during the pandemic, and using the popularity of F1 to get some money, before the huge calendar hurts the sport again. So, rather than spending this whole article complaining, here is my opinion of what the F1 calendar should be for the foreseeable future:
20 races spread from mid-March to mid-November, grouped to make travel easier, with each event made into a proper event. Emphasis should be put behind making sure the locals know the race is on, and giving them a chance to get involved, and have a party atmosphere. Some events do this really well, but there are also plenty which have room for improvement. One idea I had, was almost a travelling circus (not an actual circus), which goes ahead of the F1 circus, and organises activities in the local area to the track to bring fans together, get them interested, and maybe does charity work to make sure that F1 gives back to the local community. This means that instead of it being a 3 day event, it has a bigger impact, and so is more commercially and economically viable for the hosts of the races.
In terms of the races themselves, in order to bring the race count down to 20, there will be two groups of tracks. The permanent, iconic, or entertaining tracks, and the tracks which rotate on and off the calendar. The rotation may allow those circuits to make each race more of an event, if it isn’t on every year, and save them money too. This constant changing will also keep it fresh every year, whilst having the comfort of the permanent ones.
Most of the permanent ones are hopefully obvious, Silverstone, Spa, Monza, Suzuka, Brazil, Monaco, and for Monaco, it should be a classic livery one off event, to add more interest and entertainment into the race. As well as those 6 which are clearly deserving of a permanent spot, if Bahrain can make the race more of an event it should be permanent, also Austria, Netherlands, COTA, and Mexico warrant a constant spot in my view. There could feasibly be one or two more consistent spots, but no more than 14.
The rest of the circuits on the current 2022 calendar would then alternate on and off, along with Las Vegas, Portimao, Turkey, maybe Mugello too, and if Nürburgring, Kyalami and Malaysia return, it would give the sport a lot of good options for each year. I personally would take out Saudi Arabia, unless they gave a good reason to stay on the calendar.
The direction that Liberty Media is taking the sport is not a disaster, however, the logic behind it is questionable, and could lead to plenty of fans being disappointed, and even bored with the sport. F1 has always been a series about quality, with the best teams with the best minds fighting it out on track, for the best prize of them all. So, in the same way that we don’t want second rate teams or drivers entering the sport, or allow F1 to become oversaturated with teams, why should we allow the calendar to become diluted. If they truly believe this is the best series in the world, they should ensure that every time those cars go out on track, it is an event, a spectacle, and not make it commonplace.
-M
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