Paddock wags used to (half) joke that the Formula 1 calendar was drawn up by people who flew by private jet, or at the very least turned left while lowering themselves to breathe the same air as we mortals on a scheduled flight. But now our annual itinerary, which has long bordered on the chaotic and dysfunctional, is about to be transformed.
The calendar is going to change shape, in part to reduce expenses for and physical strains on competitors under the budget cap, but chiefly because F1 needs to streamline its travel to move closer to its stated goal of achieving ‘net zero’ status by 2030. In parallel with this commitment – and what an unlikely and uncomfortable combination this makes – F1 also wants to accommodate new venues, mostly outside the traditional European heartland.
