But it's going to put immense strain on the teams, and F1 doesn't have a great reputation when it comes to working conditions.
Formula 1 has announced its race calendar for the 2024 race season, and it's a whopper with 24 races. That's an average of two a month, or it would be if the season started in January and ended in December. The circus will travel to 21 countries along the way. As you may recall, 2023 was already supposed to be a record-breaking 24-race season, but floods canceled the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, and China's leg was cut from the calendar due to health restrictions.
The full calendar appears at the bottom of this article if you can't see the below tweet, but it's not our focus here. F1 is a fantastic spectacle, and more eyes on more races mean it can only grow, which brings with it benefits and drawbacks.
We start with our veggies, talking about the bad stuff first, and then we'll move on to the dessert and how more races will be good for the sport.
24 races in 2024 with big steps forward in regionalisation ??
Introducing next year’s Formula 1 calendar ???#F1 pic.twitter.com/JTSWJL29yH
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 5, 2023
The Bad
The #1 issue that came to mind on learning that F1 was adding more races to the calendar was the well-being of team members. We're not talking about the team principal, the strategists, or even the drivers. Yes, they will all face added pressure, but they are handsomely paid and their obligations can sometimes be fun. Elder statesmen like Bottas and Hamilton are sticking around for the joy and could go spend some time with their AMG ONE hypercars if the stress becomes too much.
We're talking about the backroom team members, the mechanics, the men and women on the ground. We got an insight into what it's like to work behind the scenes of a Championship-winning team not too long ago, but that was a publicity story. When you speak to individuals anonymously, it becomes clear that these critical workers face struggles that are sometimes disgusting for a sport as prestigious and cash-rich as this. Motorsport.com provided an in-depth look at how mechanics work in brutal conditions, sometimes managing burnout without sleep.
With more races – and the ongoing pressure of sticking to a cost cap – one can't help but wonder how these overworked and underpaid employees will manage. And that's before F1 even announces if there will be Sprint Races in '24. With loads of practice sessions, then qualifying sessions and races (two each on Sprint weekends), the pressure may be too much to handle.
The only solution we see is to increase the cost cap to allow for larger workforces that can share the load across weekends. And many of these race weekends will be back-to-back-to-back. In the middle of the season, Europe will host a tripleheader. Then there are two doubleheaders in a row, and it's a similar story at the end of the season, with two consecutive tripleheaders punctuated only by a fortnight break.
And it's not just the racing either. The first race of the season takes place just a week after testing concludes, which means that time off will be reduced too.
The Good
There are probably more small issues with such a big calendar that detract from the value of the sport, but we're so excited about the prospects. For a start, more races allow rookies like America's own Logan Sargeant to hone their skills behind the wheel of an F1 car more quickly, gaining experience on more tracks.
More track layouts also offer more chances for teams – and drivers – to show their individual strengths. For example, the Red Bull piloted by Verstappen has phenomenal straight-line pace, but Alonso can hang onto the back of the #1 car's gearbox at tighter tracks like Monaco (at least theoretically).
More races also offer designers more opportunities to evaluate their cars and potentially bring upgrades sooner, making them more competitive more quickly. But with Adrian Newey in charge at Red Bull, that could also mean more opportunities for Red Bull to further assert its dominance in this ground effect era.
More races also mean more sponsors. That means more money, which should mean more teams can join the grid. One of the teams that wish to enter – Andretti Autosport – says that it is being denied entry partly because existing teams are worried about diluted prize money, but if there's more to go around, that shouldn't be a concern.
Another pro for the 2024 calendar is that, although there is still some back-and-forth, the calendar has been “regionalized” so that there is far less globetrotting. As a result, the Japan GP takes place earlier than ever and finds itself between the Australian and Chinese Grands Prix. That means less harm to the environment and a lot less jet lag for the teams. And for Brad Pitt, who will begin filing his F1 movie Apex this weekend at Silverstone, as reported by Sky Sports.
Up-close and personal with APXGP ??#F1 pic.twitter.com/o5AvJHykoM
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 6, 2023
The Calendar
Unfortunately, a race in Africa is still not in the cards. It's also a shame that Germany is no longer on the calendar, and as reported by SportsMole, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali would like to see Germany return, but he needs the local government to support the idea. While it's unlikely that we'll ever see an F1 car on the Nurburgring unless as a publicity stunt, there are several other options in the country.
Britain and Australia could also host more (the US has three races excluding Mexico) or different races, so we could easily rotate Brands Hatch and the Adelaide Street Circuit instead of sticking with Silverstone and Melbourne, respectively.
Either way, more races should mean closer competition, more crashes, more different race winners, more emphasis on reliability, and just more excitement in general. With that to look forward to, the 2024 calendar appears below. The opening two races, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, will be held on Saturdays to accommodate Ramadan. The Las Vegas GP also takes place on a Saturday, but that's so more Europeans can see it live.
Keyword: The 24-Race F1 Calendar For 2024 Is Great News For Fans