Formula 1: Europe schedule shift could backfire in a critical way

With the number of feasible Grand Prix venues exceeding the number of slots on the Formula 1 calendar, the competition to host a race has risen.

Nearly half of this season’s 24 races are held in Europe, and with increased interest from venues in South America, Africa, and Europe that are not already on the calendar, some races could be held once every two years instead of every year moving forward.

Over the last few years, we have seen quite a few traditional circuits be replaced with street circuits. Despite the trend, it seems that Formula 1 does not want some of the traditional road courses to go completely extinct, especially due to their history.

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali mentioned that he is quite focused on bringing out the maximum economic benefit, market growth, and overall benefit for the business. Formula 1 is looking to manage this carefully while also maintaining its position as the pinnacle of motorsport.

But there is much risk involved with such a schedule shift.

While Formula 1 is looking to grow the sport and its business, more consideration must be given to the venues and fans. All Grands Prix held throughout the season attract over 100,000 fans during a race weekend. Switching a number of races from annual to biannual will likely cause a major stir.

Fans are what makes Formula 1 so special for several reasons. All 20 drivers on the grid show lots of appreciation for the fans after every race. Millions of fans attend their home race on a yearly basis, and making some Grands Prix biannual events is unfair to those fans and could also cost Formula 1 and the tracks themselves a significant amount of revenue.

Some venues cannot afford to hold a race every two years, as funding from sponsors and other potential sales are crucial to their existence. Additionally, some venues simply do not want to share a slot on the calendar, such as Circuit Zandvoort turning down the opportunity to share their slot with Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

If Domenicali and Formula 1 were to take a different approach, simply rotating races is not the way to go about it. Instead, each race’s overall performance, assessed across different categories, should be taken into consideration when creating the following season’s calendar.

For example, all Grand Prix venues from this season should report their data to Formula 1, and that data would then be used to create the 2026 calendar. The lowest-performing races would then be replaced accordingly. Such a format would incentivize all Grands Prix to do the best they can and be innovative, thus leading to growth across the board.