The coronavirus pandemic left the world screeching to a halt and prompted an unexpected period of reflection. Might it now be the ideal time to re-consider the composition of future Formula 1 calendars?
Nothing about 2020 so far has been normal but without a pandemic Formula 1 teams and other personnel would already be looking at draft proposals of the 2021 calendar, making arrangements, and working out the logistics.
Friday practice sessions spent in media centres through the European season would often be spent assessing and booking hotels for the dates of when and where we’d expect grands prix to take place.
It all seems rather daft in hindsight given the pandemic which has now affected society. We don’t even have a firmed-up schedule for the remainder of the year as rumours fly and matters change by the day. To borrow a phrase favoured by Chase Carey, it is a fluid situation.
But before the world shut down the global focus in 2019 was on the environment, climate change, and sustainability. A whole university thesis could be written on the causes and the potential positive steps that could be taken. Within Formula 1 steps have already been made. The current cars are more environmentally friendlier than ever, within the paddock there have been certain initiatives, and people generally are adopting a more responsible stance where possible.
Last October Formula 1 unveiled its strategy to have a net-zero carbon footprint by 2030, move to ultra-efficient logistics and travel by 2025, and ensure events are sustainable. They were the headline-grabbing decisions made by a sport that has previously been accused of having a reactive mindset to global matters, existing in a bubble to the outside world, or keeping things the way they are because that’s the way they’ve always been.
But the coronavirus pandemic has given several strands of society new ways of thinking and adopting new ideas that were previously not needed. In the Formula 1 world crucial meetings have taken place over virtual landscapes, such as Zoom, and the planning for upcoming rounds has for now forced the abandonment of the motorhomes, which need a fleet of trucks to transport them around Europe.
What the pandemic should also do is prompt a re-think of how the Formula 1 calendar is composed, particularly in line with the championship’s unmoved desire to eventually expand to 25 events. Saudi Arabia and a second US race – potentially at Indianapolis – are the front-runners to join. Officials have been handed a perfect opportunity to start again in a manner which not only assists the environmental cause, but also helps the logistics, the finances, and reduces the strain upon travelling personnel.
There are certain factors that must be considered: cold or hot weather depending on the territory (though in 2019 F1 avoided horrific temperatures in the 40s in France by mere days), location, national preferences, contract stipulations, among many. Australia and Abu Dhabi are down to bookend the season. Holding Silverstone in March would be carnage. Montreal in November would be pretty grim. Texas in July would be risky. Some events don’t want to be tied together either through politics or preference. Entry/exit fears over customs also means giving breathing room to some events. Arranging a calendar is complex and not the work of a moment. But let’s live in a slightly idealistic world where everyone comes together for the greater good, and it all works (laughs manically).
Consider the original 2020 calendar from an economic, logistical and human perspective (and for the purpose of this piece Western Europe is being used as a base).
Australia and Bahrain back-to-back – logical – but then followed by new-for-2020 Vietnam and China two weeks apart, meaning either staying out in Asia for a prolonged period or two additional long-haul flights, and subsequent time zone shifts, a week apart. Netherlands/Spain back-to-back, and Monaco standalone followed, then a back-to-back consisting of Azerbaijan and Canada. Which means in the middle of the European season there’s a jaunt to the Caspian Sea, followed by an indirect voyage across the Atlantic. There was then a return to Europe for France/Austria, Britain, Hungary and Belgium/Italy. A fairly logical stretch. The end of year sequence is then usually the least logical: Singapore twinned back-to-back with Russia – which takes place in difficult-to-reach Sochi, just 500 miles from Baku – followed by a standalone in Japan, across to the other side of the world for USA/Mexico (logically twinned together at least), a standalone in Brazil, and the finale in Abu Dhabi.
When Liberty Media took over Formula 1 newly-installed commercial chief Sean Bratches outlined that establishing regional calendars was one target, though the nature of existing deals and other complications meant it was viewed as a long-term aspiration rather than a short-term target. Bratches has since left his role but a throng of highly-skilled F1 chiefs are continuing the work he began.
Now is surely the ideal time to evaluate the future. 2020 has torn up the dates of established events and provided an unexpected opportunity for the next decade as the championship looks to its new era. Could you group together all the Asian events to take place early doors after Australia? Then have the European season? Run the Americas in the early autumn (ostensibly helped if Brazil is dropped) and then conclude in Eurasia/Middle East in the run towards December?
Maybe it wouldn’t work. Maybe it will always be a pipe dream and Formula 1 will always have to criss-cross the world in a less-than-ideal manner. And maybe ‘normal life’ as we know it won’t even be possible as early as 2021. But this is the perfect time to be a little optimistic and consider if long-term changes to a schedule that has been torn apart in 2020 could be beneficial for all involved.
