Iconic European venues at risk as F1 considers rotational calendar

New Delhi, Nov 8 Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has confirmed that the European calendar is at risk with the prospect of hosting races on a bi-annual basis being assessed. Liberty Media Corporation, the owners of Formula One Group, have already made a number of changes to the F1 Calendar which is already at a record-breaking 24 races this season.

"We have some news to share very, very soon with regard to the possibility in the mid-term to have some rotational European Grand Prix and some other new options coming later," Domenicali was quoted saying to a Liberty Media investors call by motorsport.com.

With the sport’s popularity steadily rising, the number of venues in recent years has seen a major addition in the United States of America and the Middle East through the likes of Las Vegas, Jeddah, Qatar and Miami.

"This is something that, of course, we will clarify in the due course. It is true that we have a large demand for new possible venues that want to come in and our choice will always be balanced between the right economic benefits that we can have as a system and also to leverage the growth on the market that we can see potential that will be beneficial for us to grow even further our business," he added.

Europe currently plays host to ten races in the calendar with Silverstone (Great Britain), Hungaroring (Hungary), Red Bull Ring (Austria), Baku Street Circuit (Azerbaijan), Imola Circuit and Monza Circuit (Italy), Zandvoort (Netherlands), Circuit de Monaco, Spa (Belgium) and Barcelona being the venues. Madrid has been confirmed as an addition from 2026 onwards.

Spa, Monaco, Monza, Imola and Zandvoort, some of the most iconic venues in motorsports, are out of contract in 2025 and run the risk of being dropped altogether. Silverstone (2034), Madrid (2035), Hungary (2032) and Austria (2030) all have long-term deals as of now which would make a rotational schedule a challenging task.

Source: IANS