44 replies to this topic

[sportyskells]

After today's news of Barcelona staying put for another year how will next year's dates look like bearing in mind we have 2 new grand prix to add in?

[Currahee]

Numbers

[PedroDiCasttro]

https://www.motorspo...ecured/4521711/

 

Germany will probably be ditched, so the calendar stays with 22 races.

[f1paul]

https://www.motorspo...ecured/4521711/

 

Germany will probably be ditched, so the calendar stays with 22 races.

There's 21 this year.  

 

22 is a record - Germany goes but Zandvort and Vietnam come in.

[SonGoku]

I don't think there is even place anymore for Germany even if they had the money, Liberty will soon realise how difficult it is to make it work and more races won't solve that problem.

[f1paul]

I don't think there is even place anymore for Germany even if they had the money, Liberty will soon realise how difficult it is to make it work and more races won't solve that problem.

That's what SHOULD happen.

 

I would happily have not had Spain and just have it as the pre-season test venue.

 

Sochi, France and Abu Dhabi can go too - obviously the last one won't though.

 

Then you would be down to 18 races and that's perfect IMO.

Edited by f1paul, 27 August 2019 - 19:32.

[loki]

There has to be that many races to support the business model.  Ecclestone built it on high race fees and capturing most of the revenue at the track.  It will be tough to change from that format to a TV supported model.

[AustinF1]

BTW, anyone know the grandstand capacity at Silverstone? 

[Marklar]

[Laptom]

Germany out...

[statman]

strange that Vietnam and Zandvoort are not being given a *

 

A while ago (in the other topic) a report said Vietnam had difficulty getting it all together for next year, and Zandvoort hasn't even started changing the track and facilities as far as I know

[TheGoldenStoffel]

strange that Vietnam and Zandvoort are not being given a *

 

A while ago (in the other topic) a report said Vietnam had difficulty getting it all together for next year, and Zandvoort hasn't even started changing the track and facilities as far as I know

Zandvoort doesn't have a Grade 1 licence at the moment so it definitely should have a * because the circuit first needs to get approval of the FIA.

[Gemini]

strange that Vietnam and Zandvoort are not being given a *

 

A while ago (in the other topic) a report said Vietnam had difficulty getting it all together for next year, and Zandvoort hasn't even started changing the track and facilities as far as I know

 

 

Good point.

 

 

Considering how early in the season woth are planned I have lot of doubts. Especially Vietnam. Any one seen construction photes lately. There is only 6 months left

[Spillage]

Not convinced about the wisdom of having Zandvoort, Barcelona and Monaco all in a row. Surely its a recipe to have three stinkers in a row.

[azza200]

Far too many races IMO i miss when the calender was 16-18 races long that was more then enough for F1 this is overkill and is like they want to get to levels of Nascar for amount of races per season.

[Atreiu]

Meh. Crowded and underwhelming.

[SophieB]

I feel a bit sad looking through that. Not only for the teams and people covering it all who will having to be working the crazy long hours and who don’t get to complain, but because I know I am just not going to watch all those races. It doesn’t deserve so much of my time as it is now and once you start missing races, I think interest starts to ebb away.

[Risil]

Too much.

[Kalmake]

Could be a chilly beach party at Zandvoort?

[Spillage]

Have to agree that it's too many races. Twenty is enough. For the fans as well as everyone travelling with the F1 circus.

[Heyli]

The back to back Baku/Canada is interesting. I know logistically it wont be a problem, but it feels like it would be extra stressfull for the personell that´s travelling. 

[fridge46]

I dont mind the number of races, but the placement of some GPs seems weird...

 

Good luck to crews on the Australia/Bahrain, Azerbaijan/Canada and Singapore/Russia back-to-backs!

Edited by fridge46, 29 August 2019 - 13:04.

[Anja]

I wouldn't worry about the amount of races just yet, Vietnam and Zandvoort don't seem to be in a hurry with their construction work... 

[PedroDiCasttro]

Surely the teams will have to draw the line at some point. 

[PayasYouRace]

The teams are going to have to double up on personnel at this rate, just like they had dedicated test teams in the past.

 

There are definitely a few races I'd remove from that schedule, but I do want to give the new races a chance.

[Peat]

[Fastcake]

Well the Spanish Grand Prix doesn’t appear to have much a future, so we may be back down a race by 2021. And there’s no guarantee that Vietnam won’t be as short lived as South Korea or India.

We may get back down to a more manageable number through attrition if nothing else.

[Bleu]

It is notable that they have been increasing the maximum one-by-one much of the time. 

 

17 in 1995 (had been in 1977 but after that the maximum settled to 16)

18 in 2004

19 in 2005

20 in 2012

21 in 2016

22 in 2020

[sopa]

I wonder, when will the bubble burst of adding more and more races. Surely it can't last forever. I remember a decade ago WRC calendar dropped from 16 races to 12, because some manufacturers pulled out and others complained about costs being too high. It will happen to F1 sooner or later too.

[sopa]

Not convinced about the wisdom of having Zandvoort, Barcelona and Monaco all in a row. Surely its a recipe to have three stinkers in a row.

 

On the other hand it's interesting to note that British GP isn't back-to-back with any other race. Looks like they have included Brexit and logistical problems into the equation!

[f1paul]

On the other hand it's interesting to note that British GP isn't back-to-back with any other race. Looks like they have included Brexit and logistical problems into the equation!

To be fair, they did that this year.

 

The British GP not being back to back, not the Brexit stuff!

[AustinF1]

There are always lots of logistical & contractual issues included in the math that results in these calendars...

[NoForumForOldPole]

Why would more races be bad? 22 races - brilliant! I love F1, I could watch it every weekend.

Last race end of November, I only wish we could start at begining of March.

Edited by NoForumForOldPole, 30 August 2019 - 05:58.

[Tsarwash]

BTW, anyone know the grandstand capacity at Silverstone? 

Don't know about the grandstands, but don't they get nearly 170,000 every year ? Or is it not that many ? 

 

Why would more races be bad? 22 races - brilliant! I love F1, I could watch it every weekend.

Last race end of November, I only wish we could start at begining of March.

 

Hmm, there are so many races this year that I am not staying in to watch them all as it is. They have put the races right in the middle of a Sunday afternoon for Europe. Am I really going to spend almost literally half if my Sunday afternoons staying in and watching telly, for the rest of my life. I don't think so. 

[Stephane]

To be fair, they did that this year.

 

The British GP not being back to back, not the Brexit stuff!

 

Remember the Brexit was supposed to have happened in March, when the 2019 calendar was published.

[NoForumForOldPole]

 

Hmm, there are so many races this year that I am not staying in to watch them all as it is. They have put the races right in the middle of a Sunday afternoon for Europe. Am I really going to spend almost literally half if my Sunday afternoons staying in and watching telly, for the rest of my life. I don't think so. 

 

I feel your pain, as I also have life   but you can still watch it before bed  - I do more often now days.

Edited by NoForumForOldPole, 30 August 2019 - 06:50.

[dweller23]

To me 16-18 race seasons are ideal. I found that with longer seasons, my interest tends to drift away after Singapore or Suzuka, 22 is way too much for me, and with another year of Mercedes dominance it seems pointless to increase events number.

[Jazza]

Why would more races be bad? 22 races - brilliant! I love F1, I could watch it every weekend.

Last race end of November, I only wish we could start at begining of March.

On top of the issues mentioned...

*that it becomes hard to watch every race when half your weekends need to be free for F1.

*the fact that the races start to blur into each other making watching the championship less interesting overall.

... There is also the issue of more races simply eliminating chance.

Take any season and check the results at any given race and there will be many times that the eventual champion is not leading. We have seen plenty of exciting seasons because a few great drivers by one driver and a few bad races by the fastest one have resulted in a close battle. Many seasons have started with the WDC to be needing a few races to get the car sorted out. But when you start getting 22 races a year probability starts to flatten everything out. There are simply too many chances to make up for a bad start to the season or a few bad races.

[noikeee]

Not sure I buy into that "chance" theory, but I think it's true that the more races, the least chance of the championship being decided in the last race.

[NoForumForOldPole]

Fair enough, for me 22 races is not too many, probably 30 would not be too many for me! But having a thought about, it can only be pulled off if we race at the interesting tracks of different characteristics that brings different challenges  - not another crap Tilkedromes - so the races do not merge into each other. IMHO Baku was great addition as it was different (ultra fast street circuit) - I always look forward to it. I would not mind even more extreme additions like oval (short tri-oval!), London Street Race etc. That would spice things up more then tinkering with weekend/race formats. Hopefully Hanoi race will bring something new to the table.

Edited by NoForumForOldPole, 31 August 2019 - 10:40.

[Jazza]

Not sure I buy into that "chance" theory, but I think it's true that the more races, the least chance of the championship being decided in the last race.

What I mean is that if a team has a bad start to the season (or a team has a good start) then the effects are most likely to impact the end of the year as well. But the more races in a season the more things level out.

When Barcelona is race 6 of 16, a big upgrade fixing early season dramas only gives you 10 races to catch up. But make it race 6 of 22 and a bad start to the season no longer hurts as much as you have 16 races to make up the gap. Likewise, start the year strong with a number of wins, and you then only have to hold off the competition for about 8 races. But when you have a 22 race season those 8 races become 14, and it’s likely to be impossible to hold on to a lead for that long.

Same deal with a few bad races. Have a rough patch in races 9-12 in a 16 race season and your points gap could become a defect with only a handful of races to fix it. But when you still have 10 races to go a rough patch can be fixed with several good races.

To explain it another way; think of a championship like a race. In a 20 lap race if you have a bad pit stop, make a driver error, or get a penalty, your race is done. But make the race 200 laps and there is time to make up for any time lost. A championship is a bit the same. Every time it gets a bit longer those point damaging races get leveled out.

[Marklar]

Pre-season testing dates have been confirmed for February 19-21 & 26-28, so two days less than previously, in Barcelona.  No in-season testing this time.

[Clatter]

Don't know about the grandstands, but don't they get nearly 170,000 every year ? Or is it not that many ?


Hmm, there are so many races this year that I am not staying in to watch them all as it is. They have put the races right in the middle of a Sunday afternoon for Europe. Am I really going to spend almost literally half if my Sunday afternoons staying in and watching telly, for the rest of my life. I don't think so.

Think Silverstone capacity is closer to 150000,unless they have upped it again.

I stopped watching all races live several seasons ago. Its so easy to just record the broadcast and watch later, skipping the crap bits. Only once or twice have I heard the result beforehand.

[AustinF1]

Think Silverstone capacity is closer to 150000,unless they have upped it again.

I stopped watching all races live several seasons ago. Its so easy to just record the broadcast and watch later, skipping the crap bits. Only once or twice have I heard the result beforehand.

Yeah they get massive crowds. I'm especially interested in the grandstand/reserved seating capacity.

 

Anyone have anything on that?

[Clatter]

Yeah they get massive crowds. I'm especially interested in the grandstand/reserved seating capacity.

Anyone have anything on that?

Figures I found say 60000 seated, 90000 GA. Another article has Silverstone saying they want to get the grandstands up to 90000.