Ex-Formula 1 driver Johnny Herbert does see room to expand the current calendar due to a reduction in testing.
2020 will see the season raced over its biggest number of races with the return of the Netherlands and the arrival of Vietnam taking the figure to 22.
In the future, it is suggested owners Liberty Media could push for as many as 25 races and the current Sky Sports pundit doesn’t think that would push F1 teams as much as some think.
“One thing that’s different from when I did it, and we did 16-17 races, was that we probably did 30 days of testing,” said Herbert. “If you did it as a bundle of days away then we probably did more than what they’re doing at the moment.
“Back in the early ’90s there was a Friday engine, you change it, a qualifying engine, then you change that and put a race engine in. Then there was a warm-up engine on Sunday sometimes, so there was possibly another engine change before the race.
“They [the mechanics] did 24 hours [straight in the garage] quite often.”
As the Briton noted, however, while F1 was predominantly based in Europe 25 years ago, now it is truly global.
“The difference is that we had Australia, Japan, North America, Central America. Now you have the diversity of Abu Dhabi, China and Vietnam coming our way, so a lot more flying,” he said.
“I always find the second part of the season is a killer. There are so many time changes and flicking backwards and forwards, that takes a toll.”
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- Carey claims he wants ‘quality over quantity’ but says F1 can manage 25 races
- Verstappen: F1 mechanics should ‘file for divorce’ with 2020 calendar
Back in 2018, F1 completed a first in holding the French, Austrian and British GP’s on three consecutive weekends and while it is agreed efforts will be made to avoid doing that again, Herbert feels the precedent has been set.
“As a whole, we’re probably not too bad at 20-21,” he said suggesting the ideal length for the season.
“Going up, is it possible? Yes. Doing the triple-header was a big mistake showing that was possible because it means we can do it.”