David Croft insists F1 is at BREAKING POINT and fears for fans

Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton in Melbourne — Photo: © LAT Images

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Sky pundit insists F1 is at BREAKING POINT and fears for fans

F1's current format is coming under increased scrutiny

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 16 August 2023 18:57

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Sky Sports pundit David Croft has stated that the current growth of the number of races in a Formula 1 season is unsustainable, something that may well turn fans away from the sport.

There has been concerns that the growth of F1 in numerous countries around the world is leading to longer seasons and more air miles being racked up around the globe, hampering the sport's efforts to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030.

Despite the cancellation of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix meaning that it is only the joint-longest season, next year is due to be the biggest yet, with 24 races planned, including four double-headers and two triple-headers.

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Now, you may think this is great if you're an avid F1 fan who wants to consume as much of the sport as possible, but Croft isn't sure that this is sustainable.

Speaking to the Sky Sports F1 podcast, he said: "Personally, I think we’re at the limit for the number of races, I don't think we need anymore races and sometimes less is more on that one.

"We’ll do 24 next year and then we’ll revisit it again, and maybe 24 might be a bit too much, because to ask people to invest so much time in the sport for 24 races as fans is asking a huge amount, but I understand why it’s happening."

Sprint race world championship?

David Croft isn't sure about where sprint weekends fit in

As well as having 24 race weekends next season, six of these will also be extended weekends with sprint qualifying and sprint races.

Croft has also expressed concerns about this sprint format, suggesting that it should be separate from the main world championship.

The 2023 season will hold six sprint weekends in total this year, doubling from last year's total of three, as Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Qatar, USA (Austin) and Brazil all play host to the change in format.