Toro Rosso would refuse calendar with under 21 races

Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost says he would refuse to go below 20 F1 races per season on the Formula One calendar. Liberty Media is reportedly working on deals with Vietnam and Miami over the possibility of hosting a race in the near future.

Despite suggestions from some in the F1 paddock that 21 races per season is already pushing the limits, Tost disagrees with many of his contemporaries and believes that the number of races currently is a nice balance.

"I think it's not the number of races or the size, it's the show which we offer and the level of the entertainment," he told Autosport.

"If you have 15 boring races people will not watch any more.

"No, I think we should have around 20, 22 races and I think this is a good number.

"We also should not forget that we are a global player and therefore we need a certain number of races to stay a global player.

"I would absolutely refuse to go below 20 races. The year has 52 weeks, therefore we have a lot of time."

Renault boss Cyril Abiteboul is one of those who wants an aggressive cut to the calendar, with only 15 or 16 races in a season however Red Bull boss Christian Horner says there is a middle ground that F1 has found which must be maintained, despite talks of expanding the calendar.

"There's only so many chapters you can have in a book and I think at some point you go beyond what's relevant," he said.

"I think to go as low as 15 or 16 I think is too low -- but I think that 21 is the upper end.

"It's tough for the guys in the garage, for the travelling staff, it's tough for everybody involved.

"The really encouraging thing is that there are some great venues that want to host Formula 1 races and events and I think that that should provide natural competition for the venues that are already on the calendar."