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F1 currently finds itself in the midst of one of the greatest surges in popularity in the sport's history. The highly acclaimed Netflix series Drive To Survive has brought a legion of new fans into F1 and the epic battle between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton for the 2021 F1 championship further solidified the sport's fanbase.
Liberty Media Group, which currently owns F1, has looked to capitalize on the sport's popularity. It has been looking to expand its reach by increasing the number of races on the calendar and taking F1 to locations it has never raced at before.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali recently claimed that there was potential for a 30-race calendar given the current interest levels. Given the logistics involved in the sport, a 30-race season would be nearly impossible. It is, however, safe to assume that the current 22-race calendar could expand to 25 or 26 races in the near future.
With F1 keen to expand to new markets and also considering bringing back some old and lucrative fan-favorite circuits, certain races on the current calendar will have to make way to accommodate the new venues.
While money is a major determining factor for any circuit's survival, the following list looks at tracks that could be dropped mainly based on sporting reasons.
Here are the top 5 tracks that could be dropped from F1:
#5 Circuit de Monaco, Monaco
The Monaco Grand Prix has been a fixture of the calendar since the inaugural F1 World Championship in 1950 and is one of the most recognizable venues in all of motorsports. The touch of glamor that Monaco brings to the sport is unparalleled and is also a driver favorite given its challenge. Its validity as an F1 venue, however, is questionable in the current day and age.
Monaco has never been known as a circuit for exciting racing. The thrill of Monaco has always been in seeing how far the drivers are willing to push the boundaries and how close to the barriers they can get. That thrill quickly dissipates, though, and once the grid has been set in qualifying, the race order hardly varies.
The new generation of F1 cars will not do the Monaco spectacle any favors as well. They are simply too wide now to make overtaking a realistic prospect and all future editions of the Monaco Grand Prix are bound to be processional in nature. The odd race might throw up a crash or two to shake things up, but that should be the extent of the excitement in the race.
Getting rid of the Monaco Grand Prix was unthinkable just a few years back. If the aim is to improve the racing spectacle, however, then it could be time for the event to be consigned to its place in history.
#4 Hungaroring, Budapest
The Hungaroring circuit in Budapest plays host to the Hungarian Grand Prix and is often referred to as 'Monaco without the walls'. Indeed, the nature of the circuit means that high downforce levels are rewarded. It also means, however, that the circuit is not very conducive to overtaking and producing good racing.
Only one DRS zone exists at the Hungaroring, which is down the start-finish straight. This straight, too, isn't long enough to regularly produce overtakes. The rest of the lap is a battle for the car behind to avoid losing downforce and performance and stay in touch until the next time they go down the start-finish straight.
The only thing the Hungaroring has going for it at this point is the somewhat unpredictable weather conditions which often throw up mixed conditions in the race. All in all, it is another venue that could easily be dropped from the F1 calendar.
#3 Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona
The Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is the home of the Spanish Grand Prix and is another track that no one would be sorry to see go from the F1 calendar. The races at this track are almost always a snoozefest, with overtaking proving to be extremely difficult. The weather also rarely mixes things up in Barcelona, with the last wet race coming all the way back in 1996.
The track may have 2 DRS zones, but the only real overtaking opportunity is down the start-finish straight. The rest of the track is extremely technical and a driver's success is more dependent on the car beneath them rather than their driving ability.
Barcelona has also been consistently used for winter testing, which has meant that teams and drivers are very familiar with the circuit. Teams rarely experiment or make errors with their setups and at this point, the circuit might very well be good enough to only serve as a testing venue.
#2 Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi
Since its inception in 2009, the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix has served as F1's season finale. It also has the unique distinction of being the first and only day-night race. The Yas Marina Circuit, however, has consistently failed to deliver the type of exciting racing F1 fans have wanted to see at a venue that holds such importance on the calendar.
Overtaking at the Yas Marina Circuit has proved to be troublesome despite having two long DRS zones. The original track configuration had chicanes right before each DRS zone, which made it quite difficult for drivers to stay close to the car ahead and make a move down the straight. The nature of the final sector of the track also meant cars found it difficult to stay in touch.
For 2021, the chicane at Turn 5 that led into the first DRS zone was removed to allow cars to follow more closely and improve overtaking. There were more changes across the circuit which did improve the racing slightly, but it was not a great improvement.
The Yas Marina Circuit has been around for 13 years now but could be dropped given the pedestrian races it produces year after year.
#1 Jeddah Corniche Circuit, Saudi Arabia
Only two iterations of the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix have taken place at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit and yet the track has developed a bad reputation. It was billed as the fastest street circuit when it was introduced in the 2021 season. While that has held true, it has not proved to be the safest place to race F1 cars.
The fast and flowy circuit has several blind turns that need to be taken at full speed by the drivers. This has raised serious safety concerns amongst the drivers. While some of the turns were reprofiled for better visibility, the improvements proved to be marginal at best.
Throw in some narrow sections and unforgiving barriers, and the Saudi Arabia Grand Prix has proved to be a chaotic event. The 2021 race saw two red-flag periods, while Mick Schumacher had a scary shunt during qualifying for the 2022 edition.
The 2022 race was also overshadowed by off-track incidents which took the sheen off the whole event. Questions have also been raised about hosting an F1 race in Saudi Arabia given the political and social conditions in the country. When combined with the dangers the circuit poses to driver safety, the Jeddah Corniche Circuit is a prime candidate to be dropped from the F1 calendar.
