Commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone revealed that no races will be dropped to make way and went on to suggest the sport could expand even further.
"We are not dropping anything. [It's] 20 races - getting ready for 25," insisted Ecclestone.
Despite poor attendances at the Chinese Grand Prix, Ecclestone also said that race would continue next year.
An initial seven-year deal was scheduled to end after Sunday's Grand Prix in Shanghai and the event has struggled to attract paying spectators.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/motorsport...one/8624387.stm


25 races a year is a bit excessive dont you think?

Think he was having a 'tin bath' with that "25" comment.

It sounds like the maximum possible. They'd have to be spaced out properly throughout the year.

Since he's pushing for Manhattan as the host of the United States Grand Prix and said Sochi is front-runner for the host of the Russian Grand Prix, I wonder wat he has in mind for the other three slots.

Why? there is no reason they cant do it. The european races can be done back to back quite easily.

I guess it was just a joke. No story then.

Whats the prob, there's no testing, back to back races in pairs, especially fly aways.

So can Australia and the Asian races.

With all the emphasis on cost-cutting, it's a mystery to me why Mr. E hasn't created a calendar with the races groups based on geography.

More races

What is there to object to? All that testing that we hardly see any of, gives the same benefit to all the teams, it's a waste of time and money. Shakedown, race. Race again. Race some more .

Didn't go we go through the "We'll have 20 races next year and 25 soon" back in like, 2004 or something?

Whilst the rights holders rake it in from the circuits, they will always want more races because it means more money for them. The attendances aren't important to their ability to make money.

I would not mind having 25 races a year. It means quite a few of back to back races to fit all those 25 races into 8 month calendar.

I can hereby guarantee all 6 of those circuits (that's 19-25, including next year's Indian GP) will be crappy Tilkedromes or Tilkestreetcircuitdromes.

If they build new circuits for each location, that is. Hopefully they won't in more established F1 countries.

What would be wrong with more back to back races? Start on the first weekend in March and end Mid-November. Run Spa and Nuburgring/Hockenheim back to back seeing as they're so close, Oz and Malaysia back to back (worked fine this year), Canada and a USA round back to back and Catalunya-Monaco back to back

So just do what Abu Dhabi did: build limited seating. Shanghai might have 200,000 seats, but they're never been full to capacity. Abu Dhabi only has 50,000, but I think they were pretty much full for the race. Sure, it only created the illusion of a capacity crowd, but if obscure races do it, then they have full stands and Formula 1 is spared the embarrassment of an under-attended race.

I think 25 races is a reasonable amount IMO. Its hard on the mechanics, the logistical personnel and support staff, but as a competitive sport I personally think 19-20 races is not enough. How much more revenue will those extra 5 or 6 races bring in?

one thing I support Bernie on....more races

FOTA and he drivers would object to 25 races. It wont happen, the staff and drivers want time off too.

I think the teams are actually in the habit of rotating their people, particularly the pit crews. They'll do three or four races at a time, then get three or four races off. It's only really the drivers, the engineers and the principals who attend each and every race.

I want more races too, but that's because I hate waiting 2 weeks between each GP

I thought it was just typical Bernie fending off any negative comment before it happens. If he just said it's 20 races next year, the teams may have complained it's too many. But by tacking 25 races in the future on the end he's making 20 sound a nice low number!

More races? Great! A big calender means plenty of room for both traditional and new circuits, whats not to like.

Nothing wrong with some more races.

And at least Bernie can introduce some new cash cows in far-away countries among people of whom we know nothing without the need to drop traditional races.

Great news - if only its true.

As to the team personnel wanting some time off - I am sure there are plenty of volunteers wanting to step in. When they are out of F1 and back in some garage in Birmingham or somewhere I am sure they will realise F1 wasnt such a bad life after all....

MOAR RAYSIN

I hate 2 week gaps

I dunno. We had only once 19 races. 25 seems a bit excessive.

Grand Prix

In 2011 France wants to come back Circuit Paul Ricard looks good.
So we would have 20 races.

We could bin some stupid circuits like Valencia or Bahrain.

Bernie has considered dropping two of them in favour of America and Russia, but if he's done a backflip and is considering twenty-five races, then his talks with the current host nations clearly haven't produced anything note-worthy.

Strategy becomes more important in longer run, I think F1 should see how it develops when one season contains 23 races.

Yet I do think that the longer the season is, the more races there are the more intricate the championships will be. It gives chances for new younger talented to beat the record of Schumacher as well, which is a good thing.

In the past teams are running tests. Now with this, teams might allow more accidents to happen as it is extremely tight for engineers back in factory to keep up with developments. It should give more chances for younger driver to show the talent he got. That is also interesting development...

I doubt it would cause more accidents. It would just mean less and less upgrades throughout the season. The drivers get more chances to win, the fans get more races, the FIA gets to see the teams spending less and Bernie gets more money for himself and CVC. Everyone wins.

That's good, the NASCAR way is best. More sanction fees. More $$$ for Bernie. Races make money for teams and sponsors. The best way to promote their brands "Mercedes F1", "McLaren Mercedes" etc... much more effective than other second-rate press techniques they use between rounds.

He's having a laugh. 25 would not be good for the sport, just like how having an olympic games or soccer world cup every year would be bad. Nascar has far too many, it's not even funny it's almost like fastfood in racing form.

20 sounds perfect

Instead of increasing the quantity of the races, they should better increase the quality of the racing.

Should be 12 GP's per year. One each month, first Sunday. Predictable. Meaningful.

disagree

Champions League is every year (many many matches) and just as prestigious...huge cash cow too. Same with the Premiership. If we only got to watch league football or your favorite team once every 2 or 3 weeks, it wont be as popular as it is.

I see nothing wrong with a 25 race season. After China we have to wait 3 freaking weeks for Barcelona (which could then turn out to be a bore). If we say 50 races, then that is too much, overkill, overexposure etc... but 25 sound actually sorta perfect. A win for everyone, and those 5 extra races will help increase the profile of the sport and keep the fans locked in.

Yup with you all the way. And IMO the whole idea of a season is out of date - they design all year, go anywhere in the world for the weather, why limit it to March-November?

I suppose it does all invite the question: how much F1 is enough?

Burn the witch!

Woiuld you take quality and quantity if it was on offer? According to McLaren's Paddy Lowe, FOTA are looking at changes to the undercarriage of the cars in addition to the band on double-diffusers. The intention is to reduce the aerodynamic effect of the cars to make it easier for the drivers to get closer to one another.

You must be joking.

Not at all. Bernie is diluting F1. Nothing good comes from that.
Besides, the winter break is no fun. Let development be a constant evolutionary process instead.

The winter break is no fun, but having to wait a full month until the next race is fun?

So you honestly think we should have 1 race a month. That's crazy. That'd get the biggest thumbs down possible from me. Crazy idea, and I don't see how or why it should (or will) ever be considered. That's 1 of the worst ideas I've heard for a long time regarding number of races/where they should be held.

And considering the way Bernie runs things, we'd bemore likely to have a champtionship featuring Valencia, Bahrain and Shanghai than we would one with Interlagos, Monza and Spa.

It makes each race much more of an event. A Grand Prix.

I would not mind non-GP races though.

This is just one of Bernie's typical bargaining ploys - ask for something really unpalatable and what you actually want (which is still slightly unpalatable) suddenly seems very reasonable.

After the outcry over a 20 race calender, Bernie might think 25 races as an idea is worth floating, as it suddenly makes 20, 21 or 22 races seem OK.

So I don't think 25 races will come to pass anytime soon. If it does though, how about re-using an aspect of the old points system, where some of your lowest scores from throughout the season can be dropped (maybe from the 5 or 6 extra races?)? Also, how about allowing non-attendance by teams who wish to opt for it at, say, 5 races per season?

Your right there is no reason they can't do it. But in my opinion Bernie was being sarcastic. 25 races would recieve an awful lot of resistance from the teams. No circus without the act.

Well sure if there are another 6-8 non-GP races it wouldn't be such a problem, but that will just never happen.

The sport changed and so did the calender. It's not the 70's anymore.

In that case, Bernie can do whatever he likes. All he has to say is "The sport has changed. It's not the 2000s any more."

To a certain extend, Bernie can indeed do whatever he likes.

If he wanted 16 GP's this year, there would have been 16 GP's. He wants more than 20, there will be more than 20.

Bernie is nuts. F1 is not NASCAR. A Grand Prix should be something special.

If only the quality of the new tracks would be good but no we get one shitty Tilke track after another.

To a certain extent, yes, I would agree that Bernie can do what he wants.

However, everyone has a breaking point, and 25 races a year may be more than some teams want.

If having 25 races per year pissed off, say, Dietrich Mateschitz then F1 could potentially lose two teams (one currently a front runner) at a stroke. Such a scenario is always a (perhaps slight) risk.

Although theoretically Bernie can make decisions such as the number of races per year, even he has to consider the wider picture and the implications of such actions.

Pressures come to bear, even on those as supposedly all-powerful as Mr. Bernard Charles Ecclestone.

Also, don't necessarily believe Bernie's public persona of a money-grabbing old cynic, with no regard for the history and traditions of the sport. The number of historic racing cars he's owned over the years suggest he's far more of an enthusiast than he makes out.