Brown: 24 races 'the limit' but rotating F1 events could spur growth

McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown believes that next year's 24-race calendar should represent the limit for Formula 1 but suggests rotating races as a way to sustain market growth.

A record 24-race season for F1 was projected for this year already, but the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix and the last-minute scraping in April of Imola due to catastrophic flooding in the Emilia Romagna region reduced the schedule to 22 events.

But 24 rounds are back on the agenda for 2024, with F1 teams returning to Shanghai for the first time since 2019.

"I think 24 is the limit, Stefano [Domenicali] is going to set it as such," said Brown last weekend at Silverstone during the team bosses media conference.

"There's a demand for probably 30 Grands Prix. So I'd like to see a day where you have 24 Grands Prix, but in order to embrace more markets, maybe you have 20 fixed Grands Prix and eight rotational so you're in 28 markets 24 times a year.

"I think that would be a great way to keep the calendar where it is but yet still have calendar growth.

"And the schedule has definitely been improved from a logistics point of view, and it's not easy, because each territory has a reason why they want something on a certain date or there's other events or holidays, things of that nature.

"So it's top of mind for all of us and I have no doubt it'll just continue to improve."

• Read also: Formula 1 unveils 24-race 2024 calendar – includes China

Aston Martin's Mike Krack echoed his McLaren colleague's view, but stressed the importance of rendering a team's yearlong travels "sustainable" for its crews.

"Yeah, the 24 races has been debated a lot," said Krack. "We have also the double headers, the triple headers. I think, all in all, it is probably not far from the limit of what we can do or what we can accept.

"But I think it is down to the teams to find ways of making this sustainable for their employees. I think all the teams do that, discuss that, try to find solutions.

"But again, it shows the strength of the sport and it is something that we have all agreed to and now we have to find ways of making it happen in a sustainable way for everybody."

Williams team principal James Vowles agreed that beyond the sheer number of race weekends, organizational "optimization" regarding its crews should be every team's main focus.

"I think Mike said it well, it's an optimisation problem," added Vowles. "Clearly, we can't just keep throwing the same people at it.

"We have to rethink, almost to a certain extent, how we are running racing organisations.

"But there are racing series that are doing 32 or more weekends a year. It's just an optimisation problem. How do we make a life that is sustainable for everyone whilst continuing to perform."

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