F1 is reaching a breaking point with the number of races, says Horner – F1sport.cz

This year’s F1 calendar in its final form counts 22 races, equaling the record from 2021 and 2022. Originally, the current year was supposed to be a record, but two races (in Shanghai and Imola) were canceled for various reasons, leaving the limit of 24 grands prix not yet achieved.

The number of races in the long term is growing mainly due to new destinations, such as the recently added races in Miami and Las Vegas.

Opinions on the number of races vary. However, according to Red Bull boss Christian Horner, F1 is reaching its upper limit.

“You get to the point where you think you’ve had enough. A total of 23 races (including Imola) is a crazy amount of races and kilometers that we have to cover in a season,” said Horner at the Financial Times conference on the future of cars.

“I think it’s better to race in existing destinations rather than just adding more and more because at some point you’ll hit a breaking point. And I would say that we are not very far from that,” said the experienced team boss, according to whom the ideal number of races is 18.

“The problem is that then Stefano (Domenicali, F1 boss, editor’s note) comes along and every year the same trick is tried – ‘Ah, maybe we can’t go at Silverstone’, or ‘Monza looks a bit uncertain’ and so on …,” explained the man who has been at the head of Red Bull since 2005.

“On the other hand, they keep coming up with new venues and great races that are hard to say no to,” Horner acknowledged, adding that there are two factors to keep in mind – team personnel and television fans.

“Our travel schedule is brutal. On top of that, there are 23 Sundays where people have to commit to two hours, which is challenging if you want to watch the whole season.”