With Qatar's permanent arrival on the F1 calendar from 2023 and Saudi Arabia also on a long-term contract, there are more and more Grands Prix to be run in the Middle East. Both countries add to Abu-Dhabi and Bahrain, which were already on the calendar.

From 2023 onwards there will be four races in the Middle East and this will be at the cost of a number of European Grands Prix. Hockenheim for example was on the calendar until 2019, Barcelona is an uncertain factor and with the arrival of Miami and thus Qatar from 2023 at least one Grand Prix will have to disappear to keep the total at 23 races.

Also Imola seems to have set its mind on a permanent place on the calendar and China still has a contract. Many organisers with limited funds will find it increasingly difficult to organise a race. The FIA does have possibilities to race in more countries, without having more than 23 races in a year.

Rotating between organizers

One of the options would be to have a Grand Prix on the calendar, for example the European Grand Prix, and then race each year on a different circuit within Europe. Circuits like Portimão, Mugello, Imola and Nürburgring could then be on the calendar once every few years without having the costs every year.

This would also keep Formula 1 innovative, as each year the drivers would drive at a circuit they hadn't driven at the year before. It would be one of the options the FIA has now, because although they have been at a number of new circuits due to the pandemic, there is also more demand for a place on the F1 calendar.

Which circuits have a chance?

Imola, Istanbul and Portimão clearly have the best links with the FOM, as the circuits were on the F1 calendar again this season. In 2020 they were there to organise as many races as possible in one year, this season to fill in cancelled races. Imola has already made it clear that they want a permanent place on the F1 calendar, in Portugal they are waiting. Next year Imola will be on the calendar and Portimão lacks a place on the 2022 calendar.

In the coming years, Formula 1 will have to examine how to deal with all the circuits on offer. If they choose for the money, you will get more races in countries like Qatar and Abu-Dhabi, where there is a lot of money because of the oil. If they choose for the spectacle, you look more to races in Europe and America, but there is also a higher offer of possible circuits.