Liberty Media has discarded plans to reshuffle Formula 1's calendar in the near future, but remains committed to a restructuring in the long term.

F1 commercial boss Sean Bratches was keen on grouping races by world regions in order to ease the sport's logistics and travel constraints. While the concept remains on the cards, its implementation won't happen next year.

"From an aspirational standpoint, I am an optimist – but I am also a realist, and based on some of the contractual commitments we have, and based on weather issues, it will be a while before we can get there – if we can [at all]," Bratches told Motorsport.com.

"We are trying to point this ship in that direction which will be much more efficient for fans, because we can navigate them for a period of time in the same timezone.

"It will also be more efficient for F1 to avoid the expensive traveling, and it will also create opportunities from a sponsorship standpoint because if somebody wants to activate in Europe, or the Americas, or Asia, it is difficult to do as we bounce all around right now."

Last week, news emerged that Vietnam and Miami are now firm candidates for a spot on the F1 calendar, with Argentina also expected to bid for a race.

Liberty Media has never hidden its desire to boost the sport's agenda to 25 races, but Formula One Group CEO Chase Carey insists F1 wants first and foremost quality over quantity.

"We don't have a target number of races," said Carey.

"We certainly could add races, we've got a lot of places that would like to have races – not always places that we'd consider – but I think there are actually quite a number that would be real positives for us.

"But I think our real focus is to ensure quality over quantity. We have the capacity and the rights to add races, and can ultimately go to 25.

"But I think our focus at this point is getting the races to be what they should be, and really all the components behind it.

"It's not just the race, but it's the hospitality, local partnerships, the event itself, the cities that support it, the public support to engage, and I think we'll continue to evolve those opportunities as we deal with renewals."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers

Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter

Michael Delaney

Recent Posts

Vettel to pay tribute to Senna with McLaren MP4/8 run at Imola

Sebastian Vettel will pay a fitting tribute to the great Ayrton Senna later this month…

12 hours ago

Jordan: Newey likely to ‘just cruise for a while’

The bets are on about Adrian Newey’s next move following Wednesday’s confirmation of his departure…

13 hours ago

Ferrari reveals red and blue SF-24 livery for Miami

As announced by the Scuderia last week, Ferrari is embracing a splash of blue for…

15 hours ago

Steiner sues Haas over unpaid commissions and image rights

Guenther Steiner, the former team principal of Haas F1, has initiated legal action against the…

16 hours ago

Hamilton and Mercedes light up Fifth Avenue!

Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton – supported by team partner WhatsApp – staged a spectacular takeover…

17 hours ago

Horner pays tribute to Newey, a ‘true legend’ and friend

Red Bull team principal Christian paid a heartfelt tribute to legendary designer Adrian Newey who…

19 hours ago