FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem has said that it cannot currently support the prospect of a 25th Grand Prix being included on a future Formula 1 calendar.
F1’s CEO Stefano Domenicali has stated that he would like the calendars to remain at 24 races, telling the Beyond the Grid podcast: “I would say this is the number which we should target to be stable for a long time.”
The current Concorde Agreement enables a 25th race to take place, with many nations having been touted as possible hosts, including Thailand, South Africa, Rwanda and, most recently, Argentina.
But Ben Sulayem, speaking to Autosport, agrees with Domenicali’s own stance, saying that “everything” is already on a limit with the 24 races it already has.
“You cross a barrier where you need two teams, we can’t have [more]”, he said.
“Can the drivers take it? I just want to know. Let’s just be sensible and logical about it. Can the drivers take it physically and mentally? This is a question I will ask the drivers. And what about the teams?”
“As for the FIA, we cannot do it with this one team. We have to have a rotation of two teams, when it comes to the staff on the ground.”
FIA would not stop FOM’s desires
Ben Sulayem also said that FOM has been “sensible”, but did concede that if it changes its mind, he will accept it.
“They never came back and said: ‘Oh, we need more.’ No way they did. What they are after is quality and that’s why we have this good relationship with them.”
“I mean, I will not stop [them] to go to 25, because it is their right, OK? [In the end] it’s up to them.
“But they are the ones who don’t want to add [more races at the moment]. Because they know that it becomes [a matter] of fatigue then.
“So they have their own reasons [for keeping the amount of races on 24].”
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