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Button says he will be very upset if Spa disappears from calendar

Button says he will be "very upset" if Spa disappears from calendar

14-08-2022 17:56 Last update: 19:14
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GPblog.com

Former Formula One driver Jenson Button would rather see classic circuits on the F1 calendar than street circuits. The Briton says on the WTF1 podcast Button said he would be "very upset" if Spa-Francorchamps was removed from the racing calendar. He said it is one of the best circuits in the world and the drivers love to race there.

Liberty Media, the owner of the premier class of motor racing, wants to bring Formula 1 to new places due to the increased popularity. Miami, for example, has entered the calendar this year, Las Vegas will host a night race in 2023 and Qatar will also return to the racing calendar that year, but as a result, other races will have to be replaced and disappear.

Spa contract expires

Spa-Francorchamps is reportedly in pole position to disappear. The current contract between the Belgian GP and Formula 1 expires at the end of this season and there are rumours that other races could be rotated. The only possibility that they will still be on the calendar next year is if there is not a green light for a South African GP.

Button, who won the world championship in 2009, has admitted that he would be very upset if Spa-Francorchamps was no longer on the racing calendar. The former driver won the race in 2012 and he has warned that the current crop of drivers could also be upset if the track is removed from the calendar. "If Spa isn’t there I’ll be very upset,” Button said. “Monaco is a tricky one because there’s lots going on behind the scenes."

'Keeping racing exciting'

The Sky Sports analyst continued: "But if you take away Spa, it’s for other reasons, not because it’s not a good circuit." He added saying it's one of the best in the world, the racing’s amazing, the drivers love it and the teams love going there. "We have to be a little bit careful. We know Formula 1 is entertainment and a certain TV show [Drive to Survive on Netflix] has made it very famous in America, which is great for the sport. But we need to make sure we keep the racing exciting and going to circuits that give us great racing because you’re going to see happy drivers."