Good and bad news for European F1 tracks: These events might rotate
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
With Stefano Domenicali commenting that Formula 1 is close to (re)introducing rotating Grands Prix, the question naturally arises as to which races are involved. Which races will be involved one year and not the next? If you simply look at the contract situations and the desires of the race organisers, you arrive at three Grands Prix that could end up in a rotation system.
First up is the Dutch Grand Prix at the Zandvoort circuit. The organisers of the Dutch F1 race decided earlier this season - to the surprise of Formula One Management (FOM) - to abandon a new contract for the time being because the financial risks were too great. After all, Zandvoort runs entirely on private investors; there is no government support to keep the race in the Netherlands.
Deciding that tens of millions must be paid to FOM every year is a no-go for any company. For the Grand Prix of the Netherlands, a biennial race would make it easier to raise the funds, although it is a bit of a shock for Dutch F1 fans: They can no longer cheer on Max Verstappen every year in the dunes of North Holland. On the other hand, with a rotation system, the Grand Prix does not disappear from the calendar either.
Barcelona and Imola rotating?
Zandvoort is undoubtedly in favour of Domenicali's idea and probably the owners of the Circuit de Catalunya are too. The race near Barcelona is in danger of disappearing from the calendar as Formula 1 has a deal to hold a street race in Madrid from '26 onwards. With so much interest from circuits elsewhere in the world, it is hard to imagine Formula 1 holding two Grands Prix in Spain every year. A rotation system with, say, the Netherlands would then be the ideal interim solution.
What is true of Spain is also true of Italy. Since the coronavirus crisis, the Imola circuit has returned, but two Italian races is hard to sustain. With Monza being one of the most historic tracks on the F1 calendar, it's easy to imagine Imola dropping off the list.
The Belgian Grand Prix has also been mentioned as a race that will end up in a rotation, but the Belgians certainly do not prefer that. The Spa-Francorchamps circuit needs more than the annual revenue (and subsidies from the Walloon government) to keep things running. A complete or even partial departure of Formula 1 would probably mean a death sentence for the historic track in the Ardennes.
Therefore, the Belgians are doing everything they can to get a long-term contract with FOM, which guarantees that the Grand Prix will be on the F1 calendar every year.
This article has been created in collaboration with Matt Gretton