F1 2032: No need to wrap up warm!

In fact, let’s just go the whole hog and enjoy a winter warmer while we’re at it… and the future of the grand prix calendar fully supports this as the sport could well end up chasing the sun for the majority of the year.

When discussing the future of grand prix venues, it’s important to know exactly where we stand right now. Gone are the days of the stagnant F1 calendars we had through the 2000s, where it was headline news if a single venue dropped off or popped up. In a pandemic-ridden world, F1 has had to adapt faster and more cleverly than ever before. Since Covid reared its ugly head, 23 different venues have hosted grands prix – impressive considering at one point the 2020 season looked like it may have become an eight-race mini-series.

And that’s not including those regular venues that haven’t been able to host a race during recent seasons. There’s five of those: Shanghai, Montréal, Singapore, Suzuka and Albert Park in Melbourne. Make that six if you count the GP-that-never-was at Vietnam. Its Hannoi track was pretty much ready to go for 2020, before Covid forced its indefinite postponement, and it was then dropped off the schedule entirely after Hanoi chairman (and catalyst for the race itself) Nguyen Duc Chung was convicted of corruption and jailed. There seems little chance the sport will ever actually be heading there. Regardless, that’s almost 30 venues to choose from.

And then look at this upcoming season. A record-breaking 23 races are planned, with a brand-new race around the Miami International Autodrome (read, Hard Rock Stadium…) and almost all of the aforementioned venues that have lost out in recent seasons are back on the list.

An aerial view of the circuit at night

Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport