The 2023 calendar was originally announced with 24 races before the Chinese GP was dropped due to the lingering effects of COVID-19.
The Emilia Romagna GP was cancelled at the last minute due to flooding but many team members were already in Italy or on their way, so in effect, they worked 23 weekends even if the Imola race didn’t take place.
The Shanghai event is back on the calendar for 2024 and thus with no other changes the sport will tackle 24 events for the first time.
“I think 24 is the limit,” said McLaren CEO Zak Brown when asked by Autosport about next year’s schedule. “Stefano [Domenicali] is going to set it as such.
“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 are 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.”
Source: Autosport