2020 Formula 1 calendar to be confirmed soon, claim Liberty Media

Liberty Media’s Chase Carey has revealed that the 2020 Formula 1 calendar should be finalised and announced within a few weeks.

Ahead of the 2019 season there was uncertainty over the future of five major races in Great Britain, Spain, Mexico, Italy, and Germany. At this point, four of these locations have concluded new deals to continue their presence on the calendar, with Hockenheim in Germany failing to do so.

With the Netherlands GP already confirmed for next year and with Vietnam set to be added, it looks likely that the German GP will be dropped.

“We expect to announce the 2020 calendar in the next few weeks, I think it’s largely finalised now”, Carey said.

“In general we expect the number of races in the next few years to increase a bit. There’s a limit to by how much, but I think we do expect it to go up marginally. As we announce the calendar we will provide more insights as to when and where that occurs.”

The main reason for Germany being dropped and the other four races threatened is financial, with hosting costs rising each season. Formula 1’s hosting fees are set to increase, again, in 2020, and Carey expects this to subsequently increase sport revenue.

“We do view this about an area of revenue growth for us, just to put it simply. It’s not consistent with every event, some events are different,” the American continued.

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“I think in some places the events are more mature, but I think we do expect and do look for this to increasingly be an area of opportunity for us.

“Adding a couple of races is a factor. I think we are very excited about the demand interest, the number of places that want to host a race, and obviously, supply and demand is important.

“I think there are some places where we are not receiving what we should be receiving. Between the supply and demand being in our favour, the increase in the race calendar, and addressing a couple of places where we’re not receiving what we should be, we do expect this to be an area of growth for us.”

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