I love watching Formula 1. I fell in love with it for the race between engineers as much as the drivers. Both pushing the limits of what can be done within the legal boundaries and outside too without getting caught. But the problem F1 faces in recent years is it has become a victim of its own success. It has become so popular that it cannot put on enough races for the entire calendar. Races draw in crowds of hundreds of thousands with millions more worldwide watching on TV.
With this success Formula 1 has tried to expand the series by adding more races but 25 seems to be about the upper limit it can fit into a calendar year, at least not many more. Dragging the entire circus halfway across the world for a race and then back again the following week eventually catches up to the series. Heritage circuits like those in Europe that draw in massive crowds are becoming under pressure from tracks in the Middle East spending huge money to host Grand Prix with Formula 1 potentially loosing some of the history and appeal as those tracks fall off the calendar. Additionally the number of teams cannot be expanded much more, even though there’s been plenty of parties that have expressed interest in doing so. One more thing that could be improved is the fact some races are plain boring. Even the championship itself is boring some years, with 6 races left this year with the drivers and constructers Championships already decided. Finally for the drivers themselves there can only be 20 of them. An argument could be made for many other drivers who deserve a place on the grid but there simply is no space.
How it would work
So here I’m proposing a solution to both the number of races and the number of teams. It would be a dual series competition. Currently there is one series of 10 teams which travels across the world racing 20-25 tracks in a year. Instead there would be two leagues. Each league would have 10 teams, so each would be like the current setup. Each league would race on alternate Sundays meaning everyone would get two weeks rest between races, allowing for more relaxed logistics schedules that perhaps could be more eco friendly like trucks or boats rather than the existing flights to most races.
The split could work by geography or by a tiered system. The tiered system is easy to understand and would work the same way European football works where the bottom two or three of the first league would get relegated to the second league, being replaced by the top two or three from the second league the next year. This means not only do you have a race to the top of the table, you also have a battle at the bottom where drivers and teams know they may not be in the “pinnacle of racing” the next year if they do not perform. The lower league could serve as a proving ground for younger or more inexperienced racers, above the current Formula 2 but below Formula 1.
A geography system would mean the two leagues would get split by the racetracks they race on. For example a Pacific league would race on the countries that border or are near to the Pacific ocean. Following the water naming, a Mediterranean league would be centred on that sea. You could probably get less travel on this as most tracks on each could be reached by boat or truck, enhancing the eco-friendly image Formula 1 has been trying to build. The geographical system could set race times to be optimal for local fans, so no more getting up in the middle of the night just so you can watch a race. Instead of one series having the “worse” cars, both would be equal and just differentiated by geography. This could allow for a finals series where say the top 5 teams of each league would race in a final five week series to decide the overall drivers champion. Again, this would add more intrigue as it would not just matter who is at the top of the table but the midfield players would be in an actual race for getting to this finals league.
Why
The obvious answer to why is there would be more teams, more races and thus more fans. There have been multiple interested parties expressing interest in setting up new teams, with many manufacturers looking around, especially with the newfound popularity of the series. Managing an influx of teams would be difficult, so there could be an increased sharing of parts between teams.
There have been plenty of racetracks that Formula 1 has raced at over the years but with the current limit of around 25 some of the fan favourite heritage tracks have been pushed out in favour of big money spenders, often from the middle east. The current system also limits the number of races in some markets, for example the USA only has 3 races at the moment despite potentially being able to hold many more due to the popularity.
More races also means more ability from fans to travel to races. But even then there is more potential to have races in easier to watch times. Instead most Americas based fans having to get up very early to watch European races, they can watch them at better times, opening the sport to more than just the most dedicated fans.
Potentially there would be better racing. Rather than the current format where everyone only really cares about the one at the top of the table or the podium which often isn’t competitive, you would have a battle in the midfield. Going back the years the best competition has mostly been in the midfield, despite there being relatively little to play for in terms of end of season silverware. This could change with two leagues with their own silverware and battles for relegation or advancement in the mid-field.
Similarly more races simply means more money. TV and streaming rights will bring in more money as there will be more races and more battles on track.
How it could happen
I see only two ways it could actually happen. One is for it to be internally driven and the other is for it to be externally driven. An internally driven way would mean the current teams get together and agree to form a new league or split the current one. The Formula 1 system would split the resources across leagues and organise races on the new format. However it is hard to get the teams to agree on letting 1 more team in, never mind 10 more teams. But given the right incentives it could come about happening.
The externally driven approach would come from another player setting up their own competitive racing league from Formula 1. It would, initially, compete with Formula 1. A new league would be able to innovate where F1 cannot, with different rules, format, etc. that could lead to more exciting racing. The idea here would be that eventually it would combine with F1 to form one of the systems discussed above. The challenge here is somebody would have to make a huge investment while also getting the rules and regulations and logistics right, something Formula 1 has been practicing for decades. There is precedent of this happening with both the NBA (NBA & ABA) and NFL (NFC & AFC) forming their current structure from this. More recently golf saw this with LIV and PGA combining.
There are of course risks and challenges with this. Existing teams will most certainly not like this idea, even if it could pay off long term with a much stronger and larger series. However the risks short term are massive. Most people working in Formula 1 will remember when teams at risk of folding or going bankrupt was ever-present. This memory does not go away easily. Doubling the number of teams would increase this risk for everybody. Despite many current teams being profitable, the new format would have to bring in enough money to sustain the entire series. If five of the new teams folded then F1 would be in a worse situation as it would have to decide what to do with the remaining teams. Having one or two bad or half empty series is worse than the current system. However despite the risks I think its worth it. Other leagues such as the NFL and NBA make this work, so why can’t Formula 1.
Wrap Up
It would be an ambitious plan to pull off to form a dual series system in Formula 1 but I think the end goal would be worth it. The current system is creaking and at capacity at the moment. It cannot add many more races or teams without something new happening. The nature of the current system means it is often dominated by a single team who nail the engineering, which is a turn off for many newer fans expecting a spectacle rather than a procession. The end result could mean more races, with new race winners and more drivers being able to compete with the best.