Is the F1 calendar rotation a cash grab or a sensible move? Our writers have their say

after that announcement The Belgian Grand Prix has signed a new four-race contract for the next six seasonsIt is committed to Formula 1’s planned rotational system.

F1 will move to Spa-Francorchamps in 2026, 2027, 2029 and 2031, but will miss 2028 and 2030 as part of its new deal starting after this year’s edition.

This has begun to focus attention on F1’s race rotation plan and what it means for the future of certain races and the outlook of the calendar over the next few years. Our writers offer their views.

Rotation is the best policy for diversity and preventing running costs – Ben Hunt

The announcement of the Spa-Francorchamps calendar is finally worth celebrating.

The Belgian GP’s rotational status on F1’s future calendar is good news for the series and its fans.

It’s understandable that F1 owners are willing to tie down circuits to lucrative multi-year deals worth millions of dollars, but a Belgian GP every other year attracts just about anyone in the stands at the Qatar GP for a 10-year season ticket. Day.

Liberty Media needs balance in putting together the calendar, which is already at breaking point with 24 races.

Yes, it needs to generate money, but it also needs to provide entertainment and respect the DNA of F1 and its history.

While rising fees to host F1 races are understandable given the global appeal of the championship, it is now a proven way of giving small countries like Bahrain some significant global profile. Staging an F1 race is certainly attractive, but it also has to be right for the series.

Similarly, we should not dismiss those tracks because they can no longer afford to make such long-term and expensive deals. Keeping them on rotation not only adds variety to the calendar by mixing up locations, but it also allows the track to remain relevant.

The rotational concept would increase the chances of circuits like Imola remaining part of the championship, whose contract with F1 expires this year. This could also pave the way for the rotational return of the French and German GPs or even the Malaysian or South Korean races.

The variation is positive and, provided the calendar is built correctly with a mix of new and traditional circuits, it is a good, cost-effective way of incorporating more options.

Welcome to the turbulent world of late capitalism F1 – Stuart Codling

The manager of the Qatar Airlines flight from Doha to Heathrow asked where I was from. I said, “Qatar.” She was clearly WTF’d. Even for the national airline, Doha is considered a hub; Nobody actually gets down there and stops.

Except, perhaps, for those of us traveling to the Qatar Grand Prix – or, a few years ago, to soccer’s FIFA World Cup. The stadiums, expensively built for the latter purpose, now lie unused, but appear to be permanently lit at night. Walking through this curious alt-Disneyland, where money is seemingly no object, would be a reminder of where most of the world’s capital now resides.

Calendar rotation is the first phase of nations clinging to the belief that their first-class status will be pushed aside in favor of those with deeper pockets. Does F1 really need the two grands prix in Saudi Arabia that are sure to come next, sending another confused tier-two nation into irregular-regular GP status?

Whatever your opinion, this decision is driven entirely by the balance sheet after two decades in which a group of vulture capitalists profited off the F1 business before selling it to a new buyer who also has debt to service. Is. The castes, which have no central government support, are now struggling to afford the prices asked.

This hunger for cash explains why a commercial rights holder that loudly proclaims its commitment to be net zero by 2030 would prefer to go to Qatar rather than drive/train/coach to Spa-Francorchamps. This is a great achievement of Doublethink.

can echo your sentiments field of dreams And say, “If you build it, they (fans) will come.” But don’t forget that it took almost 20 years for the Chinese Grand Prix to sell out overnight…

Rotation Wise Method for Keeping Calendar Manageable – Jake Boxall-Legge

If F1 can get its way, there will be 30 races on the calendar – if not more. How dare the personnel behind the championship become victims of fatigue, injury and illness! I wish we could employ robots…

There seems to be a tacit consensus that 24 races is the absolute maximum limit of an F1 calendar before it starts to push people to breaking point. One could argue that, when you look at staff retention and the need for rotation throughout the paddock, it is already beyond the point where people start to fold. What went wrong in the 16 races? Yes, lucrative hosting fees that easily add up to the championship’s bulging purse.

And F1 still wants to reach more countries around the world. Getting a grand prize in Africa is the first priority, and there are still more rich regimes on planet Earth that are as yet untapped that can inject dubiously earned capital into the coffers. But F1 cannot afford to lose its European heartland, nor can it lose its classic venues where teams and drivers love to go.

Rotational racing is the best compromise in F1 to keep valuable circuits at a low rate and maintain a somewhat manageable calendar size. For some reason, Spa-Francorchamps is universally loved and it would be sorely missed by large swaths of the fan base if it was withdrawn from the program altogether; Keeping it in the rotation not only gives it a chance to remain on the calendar, but also allows another ‘at risk’ Grand Prix to remain part of the circus.

This isn’t NASCAR; F1 doesn’t need 36 races to stay relevant. In an ideal world, around 16-20 best circuits should be enough to ensure that the championship still maintains regularity without oversaturation. But, as you’ll see, it’s not an ideal world – in these cases, rotation is the next best thing.

Fans are right to be disappointed, but be prepared for more – Philip Cleren

The decision to move to an alternative Spa and another race from 2028 has caused disappointment among fans, and they have every right to be upset. Spa-Francorchamps is one of the few true gems of Grand Prix racing, bearing the same name as Silverstone, Monza, Monaco and Suzuka. It seems wrong that one of those races would now be dropped from the calendar, even if intermittently. And while the Belgian Grand Prix may not boast the same commercial package as some of the new kids on the block, it is of utmost importance that F1 maintains a balance between old and new, traditional courses and street circuits.

F1 will argue that it is still protecting that balance, and the contract renewals at Suzuka, Monza and now Spa are signs that it is not losing sight of the historic pillars of its championship. Although there’s a willingness to agree for now, depending on what locations will be included in 2027 or later, the series is headed down a path that starts to push that concept forward.

If you take the glass half full approach, we’ve got four more races at Spa and its organizers have been rewarded for their tenacity and willingness to align their event with Liberty Media’s vision of F1. The local government deserves credit for its financial support, recognizing the value of the race to its economy and global appeal. Until recently it was not certain that Belgium would be on the calendar at all.

F1 fans who are distressed by the obvious downside of this announcement may want to take a deep breath, because this is just the beginning of what F1 intends to do. With a strict limit of 24 races, rotation will be inevitable if the series wants to expand into new markets, whether in the Far East or Africa. Naturally it will not be the Middle East, which currently hosts four lucrative races and is working on a fifth, that will have to make concessions. It will be the “old world”, as F1 chief Stefano Domenicali calls Europe’s bastion, that will have to pay a price. That’s the way of the world and F1 is no different.

Such a strategy is logical for a company that intends to build value on the chain and make a profit. One has to wonder what would happen if F1’s popularity bubble would eventually burst and it would alienate its core fan base. But right now, we’re not there yet.