Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz recently spoke out to the media about the demands of the F1 calendar. In 2024, F1 will visit 24 different venues across the globe. According to Sainz, that’s the limit as teams don’t have the means to handle more than that.
Carlos Sainz said (as quoted by Motorsport.com Italia), “I don’t like to complain, but I think 24 races is the limit with this type of calendar we have now. Many teams are creating plans to rotate the mechanics, the engineers. Let’s see where this sport is going and what the ideas are for the future“.
As talks of adding more races continue, teams have been discussing how they will rotate their personnel around to meet the demands of the schedule. The logistics of it all can be very demanding on the mechanics, team members and the drivers.
Moreover, even Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has admitted how “mentally and physically” tiring the sport gets him. The Austrian suggested that he may even miss a few races in the future if F1 continues to add more races.
The legal impediment F1 faces over an expanded race calendar
The current ‘Concorde Agreement‘ that has been signed between the teams and Formula 1 restrict the sport from expanding the calendar beyond 24 races. However, with a new agreement to be penned down in 2026, things could change.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has been an ardent supporter of an expansive racing calendar. Last year, he told Sky Sports F1, “I would say there is potential to go to 30! In terms of the interest we see all around the world. We need to be balanced. We need to see what are the other opportunities.”
If F1 does increase the number of races to 24, then one big concern for the teams will be the cost cap. As things stand, the cost cap includes transportation and logistics costs.
