Hosting a Formula 1 Grand Prix is becoming a more attractive option every year for many countries with the popularity of the sport constantly growing.
The 2025 F1 season will see the same 24 circuits host races as last year, but that begins to change in 2026.
The Madrid Grand Prix will enter the calendar that year, hosting races during the latest era of F1 regulations that are more than likely to shake up the calendar.
Madrid’s introduction coincides with the final race at Zandvoort and there’s a chance that the Circuit de Catalunya falls off the grid as well.
This theoretically opens up a spot on the calendar for another race to take its place and the schedule could be rejigged further.
F1 are considering rotating between several races, meaning even more circuits could end up being used.
Max Verstappen has called the F1 schedule ‘madness’, with drivers becoming increasingly concerned about the strain the current calendar is putting on their teams.
But while the sport is growing and becoming increasingly lucrative for organisers, they’re unlikely to slow down any time soon.
Saudi Arabia hosting two F1 Grand Prix now ‘very much on the cards’
In the latest issue of GP Racing (January 2025, P38), the future of the F1 calendar is being discussed.
They believe that Saudi Arabia is known to want to host a second Grand Prix.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix made its debut in Formula 1 in 2021 when Lewis Hamilton won from Max Verstappen and Valtteri Bottas.
Red Bull have dominated the Jeddah Corniche Circuit ever since, with Verstappen winning on the street circuit twice and Sergio Perez tasting victory in 2023.
However, a purpose-built circuit in Qiddiya is seen as the next step for Saudi Arabia to host another F1 race.
READ MORE: Fernando Alonso now shares his verdict on proposed Qiddiya Formula 1 circuit
Speaking in 2023, Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al Faisal, the race’s promoter said: “Saudi Arabia is a very big market and we have a very strong economy, so the idea of having two races in Saudi is doable.
“I would not be surprised if Saudi in the near future will host two races.
“We don’t know if it would be practical and feasible for Formula One Management and the teams, but we built this track in Jeddah to last.”
GP Racing go on to say that a second race in Saudi Arabia is now ‘very much on the cards’ but no exact date has been given.
They go on to say Aramco’s sponsorship deal with F1 is worth more than £360m over 10 years and has ‘considerable influence’ at the top table of the sport.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix has a new spot on the F1 calendar in 2025
The first computer-generated images of the Qiddiya circuit – which is being co-designed by former driver Alex Wurz – appear to show a huge incline leading up to one of the corners.
It’s one of the most ambitious circuit projects in the world but highlights the lengths some countries are going to in order to increase their involvement in Formula 1, although the circuit isn’t expected to be finished until 2027 at the earliest, via The Independent.
Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah street circuit will host its fifth race in 2025 but has been shifted further down the calendar.
READ MORE: Damon Hill delivers verdict on new proposed Qiddiya F1 circuit in Saudi Arabia
The race is paired with the Bahrain Grand Prix which normally hosts the season opener but that honour is being returned to Australia this year.
That’s because the race was initially scheduled to coincide with Ramadan and so the two races in the Middle East have been shifted to the fourth and fifth spots in the calendar.
It means by the time the drivers arrive in Jeddah, they’ll already have a good idea of the pecking order after the final winter of development in his era of Formula 1.
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