Formula 1 CEO Chase Carey says the sport can manage a 25-race season but also argues he wants “quality over quantity”.
The debate over just how long the calendar should be has raged for some time now as it has expanded from 17 Grands Prix in 2009 to a record 22 this year.
Ever since Liberty Media took over in 2017, however, the talk has been of that figure going even higher, with some describing that prospect as simply impossible given the workload on team personnel.
But Carey continues to see things differently.
“We have put in place the ability to go to 25 [races per year] and we’ve been equally clear like with the teams it is a matter of quality, not quantity,” he said via Crash.net last year.
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“We are not trying to fill a number of slots. I think we care deeply about it and that is why we put efforts into trying to address and take some of the wear and tear off with the three-day weekend, which we think is still an essential part of our sport but we will modify Friday to provide less wear on the weekend.
“We have also modified testing by shortening the winter testing and reducing the in-season testing. All this is to manage that wear and tear and I think we can do more and we will continue to try to find ways to minimise that to build and healthy and global sport.”
Several destinations have already been touted to take the F1 calendar upto 25, but Carey explained which regions in particular are being targeted.
“We want to grow into a place like the US so a second race in the US is important to grow the sport and having a broader presence in Asian too,” he said.
“There is a pressure on how you grow the sport unless you take it out of places that you don’t want to, but currently we do not race in Africa and I think it would be great for us to have a race in Africa.
“I think there are other visions and priorities in the sport that are important and we are very focused on achieving what is important for the sport and for everybody in it,” he added.
“Ultimately the jobs for the people come from having a healthy sport. I think for everybody’s benefits we need a healthy sport and we will try to do it in a way that is aware of the pressure and wear and tear.
“I go to 21 races each year and will go to 22 races next year. Now I don’t necessarily go for the same length of time as others do but I am aware of it.
“It is a sport that has its challenges and I guess people decide to be in it with an awareness that there is a unique attraction and problems.”
