F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali admits that as more potential hosts emerge, F1 races in the sport's traditional European heartland are set to take place on a rotational basis.

Despite their previous flirtations with the sport, South Korea and India are said to be keen to see F1 return, while Rwanda has expressed interest along with Argentina, which is keen to capitalise on the potential of young Franco Colapinto. And then there's Saudi Arabia, which is seeking a second race at its Qiddiya Circuit.

With hosts said to be queuing around the block eager to part with their money in a bid to get on the F1 schedule, the only problem is the fact that the calendar is limited to just 25 races, though F1 bosses believe that a cap of 24 events makes more sense.

Consequently, those events in the sport's traditional heartland of Europe, which usually pay far less in hosting fees than the far richer newcomers, are set to be put on a rotational basis as the sport expands and capitalises on its newfound success.

"We have some news to share very, very soon with regard to the possibility in the mid-term to have some rotational European Grand Prix and some other new options coming later," Domenicali told analysts during a conference call as Liberty Media revealed the sport's third-quarter finances.

"This is something that, of course, we will clarify in the due course," he added.

"It is true that we have a large demand of new possible venues that want to come in," he continued. "And our choice will always be balanced between the right economical benefits that we can have as a system and also to leverage the growth on the market that we can see potential that will be beneficial for us to grow even further our business."

There are currently ten races in Europe, with Italy the only country that hosts two rounds of the championship. Madrid joins the schedule in 2026, and while Barcelona wishes to continue it is thought that it may be forced to rotate with another event, and while some have said it could be with Zandvoort, the sport is unlikely to want to upset the Orange Army at this time.

"I believe that all the propositions that are coming on our table are just giving us the possibility to make even better choices for our future," said Domenicali. "So as always, we need to be balanced, knowing that we cannot follow only the pure direct financial proposition, because that is different from region to region, but it's up to us to propose to our stakeholders the right choice."

Of course, it was the sport's European heartland that saved the day in 2020 when Liberty Media was desperately seeking to get F1 going as COVID decimated the global sporting calendar, but since when did F1 under Liberty care about such things as history, tradition or loyalty.

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by itc, 17 hours ago

"All we have to do is stop watching for a few years, and Liberty goes under.
We wouldn't have to stop caring and we might get our sport back."

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2. Posted by KKK, 11/11/2024 21:19

"Never mind all this nonsense, I just heard that Gary Lineker is joining Liberty Media! He won't care where the races are, he will get more than 1.3 millio for being a total twat!"

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3. Posted by Superbird70, 11/11/2024 20:35

"Let the Saudis build exact replicas of all the tracks in the desert. All races in Saudi Arabia with reduced travel costs and lower GHG emissions."

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4. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 11/11/2024 14:34

"So much for the importance of legacy and heritage."

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5. Posted by Chester, 11/11/2024 14:33

"@givememychoice. Amen. If these guys were smart and long-term oriented they would settle on the best tracks. Life is not perfect, for sure."

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6. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 11/11/2024 14:27

"USA does not need three races; that's for sure."

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7. Posted by givememychoice, 11/11/2024 13:16

"@kenji, There are bits of what you say that i agree with, but the issue is that you are treating things that are linked to each other as if they are isolated.
Tradition is a part of the sport.
It matters not where the race is? How does one decide where the calendar goes? Is it who pays the most? Because then it is simply a case of which country is autocratic enough to not care and pay huge fees. That does not generate better tracks.
Do you go with the best tracks? Well, that puts them in pole position (pun intended). There is only one Spa, COTA, whatever your favourite track is, so then they get the power on hosting fees, which would be zero.
Cant see Liberty going for that.
Also, the drivers are not robots. If we head down a path of tracks that arent enjoyable, the top talent will go elsewhere.
We already have quite a few crap tracks on the calendar, getting rid of good ones for more crap ones will not help.

I agree with you that it doesnt matter specifically where a track is. If country X builds a great track, fine, lets go there. But the issue for people is that Liberty invariably do a "lets go to country x", now try and make a track.
"

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8. Posted by Simon in Adelaide, 11/11/2024 2:55

"Follow the money ............. or lack of."

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9. Posted by kenji, 11/11/2024 1:13

"After lots of consideration I have come to very clear conclusion that it matters zip where he race is just so long as the layout is great and the racing first class. Country of origin is of very little consequence apart from the ugliness of catch fencing and no grass. My needs are simple, 20+world class drivers duking it out for the laurel wreath under truly testing conditions. The ghosts of a F1 'yesteryear' are fine to contemplate but have no relevance today."

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10. Posted by Anthony, 10/11/2024 21:17

"This sounds to me like Liberty maximising short term revenue and prospects so that they can sell out for a big profit, leaving the next owner to pick up the pieces when it all goes wrong …."

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11. Posted by Celtic Tiger, 10/11/2024 19:09

"I feel my inner Aughra from The Dark Crystal bubbling up, "Questions, questions, too many questions."

So, how would the hosting fees work out? If a venue is contracted for, say, five years for X amount of dollars and that venue is slated to be on a rotation with another venue do these people pay for the year(s) they are not on the calendar even though the rotation falls in the midst of their contracted period? Giving Liberty free money with no show?

Also, would venues be made aware before contracts are signed that they will be on the list of rotated parties?How and when would they decide who is up for rotation? Does low attendance put you up on the block? Why only target European races? Why isn't the Asian realm a target? or the Americas realm?

This is ripe for failure from the outset. All I see is greedy c*nts from Liberty Media trying to start a massive bickering war between all these European venues. It'll be shouts of unfair treatment, backroom bribes to stay off the rotation block and continued disrespect and mildly masked disdain for the heart and soul of F1 by that muppet Maffei and his clown generals."

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12. Posted by Fambank, 10/11/2024 17:34

"This means Monaco will also be in rotation, right ?

Right ????"

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13. Posted by KKK, 10/11/2024 13:24

"Why not rotate the US ones and just have one US race a year."

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14. Posted by Chester, 10/11/2024 11:47

"India and South Korea were tried and abandoned. Rwanda? And even Argentina is a stretch. Sounds to me like the bottom of the barrel is being scraped."

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Rotation of European events inevitable, admits Domenicali

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