Formula 1 has never historically moved swiftly – bar on-track – and has only very rarely shown a political conscience about its calendar.
The swift, decisive action it took on this year’s Russian Grand Prix, in consultation with teams during testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, is in stark contrast to previous years – and was prompted largely by outspoken drivers calling on F1 to make a change.
Drivers objecting to F1 venues is not an entirely new occurrence. Just last year some expressed disquiet over the addition of new races in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Yet change felt inevitable as drivers fell in line behind Sebastian Vettel in objection to against a race in Russia – a united front we are unfamiliar with.
The strength of Vettel’s response, insisting he would boycott a race in Russia after the country’s invasion of Ukraine, left F1 teams and bosses with no option other than to react. It was the kind of thing that pushes action from teams and F1 bosses. The…