F1 could handle more than 24 races, says ex-boss Szafnauer

LONDON : Formula One's 2024 calendar has a record 24 races but former team boss Otmar Szafnauer reckons the limit could still be some way off.

The American, on 'gardening leave' until August after his stint as principal of Renault-owned Alpine ended last July, told Reuters ahead of Saturday's Bahrain season-opener he felt the sport could manage more with careful planning.

"For me, if you plan it right, I think between 25 and 30 is the right number," he said - a controversial view in a sport wary of staff burnout.

"If you go to 30, you really have two teams (within a team)and each team does 15. That’s an easy life compared to what you’ve got today."

Szafnauer, who was previously also principal at Aston Martin and Force India/Racing Point, said he started thinking while at Alpine about the logistics of how to keep employees happy and do more races.

Since his departure, the Soft Pauer company he co-founded and that produced the original F1 timing app has launched an EventR app to help make group travelling easier for racing teams.

"I get what Liberty (Media) are doing, it’s the right thing for the sport," Szafnauer said of the commercial rights holders' gradual expansion - particularly in the United States where there are now three races - since taking over in 2017.

"We’re a global sport, truly global and should we be going to 25, 26, 27 races?"

Szafnauer recalled how the NASCAR stock car series used to have more than 40 races just in the United States before the current 36.

"If you say 'OK, how about 26 races or 28 races in all the countries in the world?' Yeah, that’s sustainable. But the calendar has to allow it," he said.

"If you can overcome the logistics, which I think you can with a bit of planning, and then overcome the human