Bernie Ecclestone remains keen on increasing the number of races on the calendar, past the 20 per season limit currently in place.
The 81-year-old, speaking to the Austrian media, explained that the demand for new races is still very high, with several deals on the table, despite the economic situation which has forced many governments to tighten their belts.
“The demand is high,” he said. “We could finalise deals today with five new promoters.”
These are understood to include France (which would likely alternate with Belgium), Mexico and Argentina. Whilst South Africa is also keen on hosting a race.
Ecclestone is keen on the idea of ‘share deals’, such as the proposed French/Belgian GP, as the idea widens Formula 1’s global reach, but keeps the calendar under its 20 race limit.
Meanwhile, an expanded calendar presents many problems for the teams, who would incur additional costs for each race added to the calendar, but this doesn’t concern the F1 mogul.
“More races would cost the teams more money, because they would probably have to double their staff,” he added. “But we could find solutions.”
This is a subject which FOTA chairman and McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh believes could reverse the cost cutting exercise currently in place, stating that a 20-race limit is probably best.
“I think 20 Grands Prix in a single season is probably a natural limit, to be honest,” he told the official F1 site.
“More than that would be overly wearisome for the teams – the mechanics especially – and would perhaps necessitate our having to explore inaugurating a shift system of sorts, as in NASCAR, where more than 30 races per season are commonplace.
“Clearly, though, that would trigger an unwelcome upward spiralling of costs, at a time when we’re successfully managing costs downwards.”
