Spa told to adopt 'the American way' if it wants to stay on 2023's 24-race F1 calendar

Race official Stijn de Boever admits the legendary Spa-Francorchamps needs to adopt "the American way" if it wants to stay on the Formula 1 calendar.

It is becoming clearer and more evident that the iconic circuit could be left without a place on the 24-race schedule for 2023 as F1's owner Liberty Media taps exciting new events, including Miami, Las Vegas and Johannesburg.

Spa's current Belgian GP race deal expires after the 2022 edition.

"It is true that there was a request from F1 to introduce a greater component of entertainment," De Boever, commercial director of the race promoter Spa Grand Prix, is quoted as saying by Italy's Autosprint.

"They said that history is something great but 'we need more'. We decided to listen to them and follow them in the new way of offering F1 events.

"This American way, with all of the entertainment that this entails," he added.

The latest unconfirmed rumour is that if Spa cannot reach an ordinary race deal with Liberty, a compromise solution could be a non-championship round in which the F1 teams field young drivers instead of their regular lineups.

RTBF reports that Spa Grand Prix president Melchior Wathelet returned to Belgium from London on Tuesday, having met with Liberty Media officials.