08/10/2025
NEWS STORY
F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has warned that circuits cannot rely on their history alone to retain their place on the calendar.
Indeed, the Italian warns that even tracks like Monaco are not safe as the ever-changing demographic prefers the likes of Las Vegas.
Admitting that the schedule is unlikely to increase beyond 24 races any time soon, the F1 boss warns that "if a grand prix has historic value, it's a plus... but it's not enough.
"For many young fans today, racing in Monte Carlo compared to a new circuit in Las Vegas makes no difference," he tells Italy's Passa dal BSMT podcast.
"So history must be supported by a structure that looks to the future, that allows investment in infrastructure to improve, since tickets are not exactly cheap, to provide services to fans at all levels, and to allow countries to be financially present in a calendar that I think won't grow beyond the number of races we have today."
Other than infrastructure, Domenicali admits that the whole experience of attending a grand prix is changing. Indeed, the advances sent out by circuits these days are more about the music acts performing throughout the weekend other than the actual on track events, a far cry from when COTA needed the likes of Taylor Swift (2016), Justin Timberlake (2017) and Britney Spears (2018) to perform on Saturday nights, post-qualifying, just to get youngsters through the turnstiles and bums on seats - the actual race fans having long departed in preparation for next day's GP.
"F1 is no longer just in a sporting dimension, it's in an entertainment dimension," admits Domenicali. "Entertainment is a positive, beautiful, energising thing, and from this point of view, we are competing, but we must remain very attentive to what's going on around us."