Formula 1 is looking to increase the number of city centre races on the calendar in future according to the sport's head of business, Sean Bratches.
Bratches, who will oversee the business side of the sport under CEO Chase Carey, with Ross Brawn focussing on the sporting side, is also keen to reorganise the calendar in a continent by continent basis, so all Asian, European and American races are grouped together.
At present the sport goes from continent to continent which can put an increased strain on teams and drivers, and with a larger calendar planned under new owners Liberty Media, streamlining the amount of travel required is a key part of that process.
"In a perfect world we’d like to have all the races take place in a region and then move to the next region and then the next," Bratches told Sky Sports F1.
"Obviously, [there are] efficiencies from a team standpoint in terms of moving this circus around the world, but also from navigating fans.
"So telling fans ‘for the next two-and-a-half months, you’re going to have to get up early to watch the grands prix, and then the next two-and-a-half are going to be at midday, and the next will be at night’.
“We think that’s really important."
More city centre races are also part of Bratches plan to increase the sports popularity and the number of fans able to attend races, with Liberty Media working with those cities to boost promotion.
"We want to play a bit more offence going forward and identify cities around the world where we can have more city circuits as opposed to traditional tracks. We still want a balance.
"We want city centres that have massive fan audiences to drive interest in the tracks and attendance in the tracks. We want promoters that understand the art of promotion – which is an art in terms of elevating the story and putting the fans in seats and creating experiences that are unique.
"We’re going to partner with them on that so I’m optimistic about that side of our business."
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