Formula 1 faces a new era in which its owners look after commercial interests and the growth of the category in places they have never visited.
For this reason, the fastest single-seaters in the world will visit places like Las Vegas or Qatar from the 2023 season, with long-term contracts. This means that the tracks with the longest tradition in the sport have to accelerate in the race to keep their place on the calendar.
However, the high canon for belonging to the Formula 1 trip around the globe is not possible for some countries to assume, which let the caravan leave the paddock to territories that can pay, such as Saudi Arabia or the United States.
Traditionally, the Great Circus has held its races in Europe , where it has its operations center, but at present, more than half of the events take place outside the Old Continent.
This leads to gigantic travel expenses for the teams, which must be adjusted with the budget limit that has come into force, although this is not the main reason for the complaints.
Formula 1 has ended up betting on urban circuits, which are becoming more and more common on the calendar. At the beginning of the millennium, only the Monaco Grand Prix took place between the walls, but in 2022 there will be up to five tests that will be held on the streets of a city, not counting the semi-urban ones of Albert Park and Montreal and the one in Las Vegas that will be added next year.
One of the main names in the highest category of motorsport has encouraged the organization to travel to more and more tracks like this. Max Verstappen spoke clearly about what is happening with Liberty Media and where they are taking the sport.
“It is clear that Formula 1 is trying to make money and make it even more popular,” said the Dutchman. “But I think it’s just as important to keep the traditional circuits on the calendar so that we don’t just race on the street tracks in the cities.”
“Our cars are not designed for that, but F1 unfortunately has to take into account the views of its shareholders, the world will no longer be the same,” Verstappen said.
“The fun factor is more important, but that’s the way it is today,” said the Red Bull driver.
