‘It reached its capacity at 20’: Fans unhappy with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali’s statements on the ‘ideal’ 24 race calendar
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F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali
The 2023 Formula 1 calendar will feature 24 races – the most yet. It is theoretically also the highest number of races allowed according to the regulations, as agreed with the teams. While everyone would like to see more Formula 1, fans also feel that the prestige of the sport decreases as you increase the number of races.
Guenther Steiner defends the calendar, but not everyone agrees. Not just that, it can often be a logistical headache for the fans as well, and the scheduling can be confusing, even though there are surely reasons for it. An example of this is how the last 5 races in 2023 will go like this – USA (Austin) – Mexico – Brazil – USA (Las Vegas) – Abu Dhabi.
But as per Motorsport-Magazin.com, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali considers the current amount of races to be hitting the sweet spot, and that there will be no more: “23 to 24 races is a good number, but I don’t want to discuss more. The venues are chosen around this number. There are many factors that are taken into account, but the number of Grands Prix is clear. At 24, the maximum is reached.”
Fans disagree with Stefano Domenicali, feel 20 races the ideal amount
In the early 2000s, there used to be 16-18 Grands Prix in a year. In the 1950s and 1960s, there were not a lot of seasons where the number exceeded even 10. Next year, we will have 24 Grands Prix, and in a variety of new locations as well. Earlier, it used to be mostly Europe, but now Asia and USA are very much markets of interest. Times have changed.
But is it really an optimal situation? Fans seem to disagree with Domenicali on this. Apart from the obvious increased logistical and technical pressure on the teams, there is concern regarding how too many events decrease the prestige of the racing series as a whole, and may even lead to lower-quality racing.
Many fans feel that the ideal number of races in a season is 20. In the recent past, 2012 and 2017 have held 20 races, and they were certainly exciting seasons, especially 2012.
There has recently been quite a bit of controversy over the ‘minor overspend breach’ that Red Bull committed over the cost cap. One fan used this as a base for his own joke.
Stefano Domenicali also explained that they are trying to strike the right balance in the calendar right now. With 24 races, they will try to divide it into 3 parts. One third of the races will be held in Europe, another third in the Americas and the Middle East, and the last third being reserved for the ‘far east’.
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Aniket Tripathi
(1002 Articles Published)