This strategy was confirmed by the director of Formula 1, Stefano Domenicali , during his usual meeting with the team managers at each grand prix weekend.
In 2019, Liberty announced a plan for the category to be carbon neutral from 2030 and, obviously, the regionalization of the calendar is a key part of fulfilling that commitment, along with other initiatives such as the change implemented this year in favor of biofuel.
In turn, a more efficient calendar will reduce the dramatic increase in transport costs that has affected both the F1 organization itself and the teams. The top category has been affected not only by rising prices, but also by a growing shortage of transport capacity.
F1 has already talked in the past about creating a regional calendar, but it is now that they have made the decision to go ahead with this idea, although they will first have to agree on any minor changes with the promoters of each of the races.
While some events have historically been grouped together, there are still anomalies in the schedule in the way some grand prizes are placed.
This season, the Miami Grand Prix was an independent race that involved a trip to North America for a single weekend, while the next races, in Baku and Montreal, are consecutive, despite their geographical distance.
Although Domenicali did not go into detail during the meeting about what might or might not change, it is understood that Baku could be grouped alongside the Shanghai and Suzuka races.
One of the complications facing F1 is that the COVID-19 situation in China remains unclear, so moving the event towards the end of the season could even give them some extra breathing space.
Another option that could be considered is to bundle Miami with Montreal , which would mean that one or the other would have to change its date from 2022 by a month or so. Monaco’s traditional date of late May also reduces F1’s flexibility at that time of year.
The Middle East races could also be paired up, with Bahrain and Saudi Arabia together at the start of the year, and Qatar and Abu Dhabi towards the end of the season.
