Formula One has no plan to go beyond its existing tally of 24 races per season, but expects to have two or three events on rotational deals amid interest from new markets.
Stefano Domenicali, F1’s CEO and president, spoke to The Athletic in a wide-ranging interview tracing his path from going to school in Imola to becoming the chief of his beloved sport.
Sunday’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Imola naturally carried plenty of meaning for Domenicali. But it is also likely to be the last time F1 visits the Italian circuit for the time being as it prepares to drop off the calendar for 2026.
No new contract is in place for Imola, but with the addition of a new track in Madrid for next year, the track is poised to lose its place as F1 keeps the schedule capped at 24 races.
The Concorde Agreement — the contracts between F1, the FIA and the teams that help govern and run the sport — has provisions for 25 races per season, but Domenicali said in the interview that F1 would not go beyond 24 rounds each year.
“Realistically speaking, 24 is the right number,” Domenicali said.
“As you know, we can go to 25, but I would say 24 (is right). We did a big jump from where we were a couple of years ago to 24. And I would say that’s the right balance.”
The growth to 24 races, a record calendar staged in 2024 and being matched this year, has not gone without criticism. Ten years ago, F1’s schedule featured 19 races and did not run beyond November, nor were there any runs of three consecutive races. This season will end on Dec. 7 in Abu Dhabi following a calendar featuring three triple-headers.
Adding races to the schedule has led to more revenue thanks to hosting fees from circuits, as well as allowing F1 to visit more countries per season, yet it has also placed added pressures on the drivers, teams and paddock as a whole.
World champion Max Verstappen said last year that a 24-race calendar was “not sustainable,” a feeling shared by peers including George Russell and Fernando Alonso. Verstappen thought people working in F1 would end up having shorter careers due to the length of the calendar.
But Domenicali felt the growth of the calendar had been handled in a manageable way, believing the sport is not as trying in some regards as it once was.
“When I was part of a team, I was sleeping two hours per night,” Domenicali said. “Now with the curfew, I arrive earlier than the mechanics.” (F1 now has rules relating to operational staff being only allowed to access the paddock at certain times.)
“If you speak to the majority of people who are traveling, the majority of people are very happy. We are privileged. We travel around the world. We see culture. We do things that are incredible.”
Domenicali called it part of the “specialness” of F1. “It’s a global championship,” he said. “By the way, I’m talking about normal sports, (like) soccer. They play every two days. In another sport, they play every two days, with flights of four, five hours per day. So yeah, (it’s) always a balance.”
So the calendar won’t go beyond 24 races. However, it is going to change in the coming years. F1 is set to introduce more rotating events in the future, with the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa already confirmed to be skipping 2028 and 2030 as part of its new F1 contract.
Other European events, including the existing Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona and potentially Imola, are likely to be part of the same rotation conversation, while the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort is already confirmed to be dropping off the calendar after 2026.
“We want to keep two or three rotational slots, no more,” Domenicali explained. “But that’s the only way to look to attract or be attractive to other places. Because today, the vast majority of the deals we have with the promoters are long-term.”
F1 recently signed a new long-term deal for the Miami Grand Prix to stay on the calendar until 2041, while Australia, Great Britain and Bahrain have deals stretching well into the 2030s.
“This was enabling us to build the right platform to grow for them, to build new facilities, to invest in the best fan activation and also to protect ourselves in the long-term,” Domenicali said. “So on that, I think we took the right decision and (will) keep a few slots to operate (on rotation).”
After winning his fourth straight Imola race on Sunday, Verstappen said it was “a shame” F1 was losing more traditional tracks in Europe, but he understood why there were more city-based street events.
“You have to see it from a sporting side and a financial side, right?” Verstappen said. “If you want to grow the business and make it more popular, I get it. For me personally, when I speak about the enjoyment of driving, it’s these kinds of tracks that made me fall in love with racing in general.”
The most recent new addition to the F1 calendar was in 2023, when the Las Vegas Grand Prix became the third American round after races in Austin and Miami.
Although Domenicali said the United States was still a “very fertile” market for the sport after growth in recent years, he emphasized the potential for the sport in Asia that went beyond simply holding a race in more countries. One hypothetical example Domenicali used was Bollywood in India as a way to tap into that culture.
“If you’re able to create the right story, instead of just being at the track, but create the right story to attract people, that will give another way to connect with another culture,” he explained, suggesting F1 could learn from such cultural institutions about effective storytelling and engagement.
“That’s the beauty of being a real-world championship. I would say that’s where I can see that we can still grow everywhere.”
The leading contender to join the F1 calendar soon is Thailand, where a proposal for a street race in the capital city of Bangkok is in the works.
Domenicali met with Thai prime minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in March to discuss the possibility of a new race. Williams driver Alex Albon, who races under the Thai flag, has also been instrumental in helping the plans progress.
Members of Domenicali’s team visited Thailand at the end of April, the week following the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, to continue working on plans for a semi-permanent track in the city.
No deal has yet been finalized for the race, and Domenicali noted there was still wider interest from other nations for a grand prix.
“We want to develop the relationship (with Thailand),” Domenicali said. “We are working for a midterm grand prix on a semi-permanent facility in the city. Hopefully, that could be an option for 2028. That’s another serious stuff. Of course, there are others that are really knocking on the door.
“The beauty of that is we need to make the right decisions strategically and also operationally. And that’s where we are standing today.”