The Formula 1 calendar has inflated dramatically in size and scope since the world championship began back in 1950.
That inaugural season featured only seven rounds. The seventh event on the 2024 F1 calendar takes place on May 19th, with more than two-thirds of the season still remaining.
From fewer than ten rounds back in the fifties and early sixties to sixteen rounds throughout the eighties and nineties, now Formula 1’s ten teams and 20 drivers face the most intensive world championship season ever.
Fittingly enough, the ’24 schedule includes 24 grand prix weekends. With the return of the Chinese Grand Prix to the schedule in late April, and hopefully no repeat of the catastrophic weather which prevented last year’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix going ahead, this will be the most grands prix ever held in a single season.
Plus, with the return of six sprint rounds for 2024, F1’s drivers will race on 30 separate occasions this year.
F1 owners Liberty Media have made a concerted effort to grow the calendar as much as possible. With every grand prix generating more revenue for the sport, it’s in the commercial interests of its owners, the FIA and the ten teams to race as often as their own regulations allow.
But is it in the best interests of the fans who watch the races, on television and in person?
Two years ago, RaceFans asked our readers how many of the 23 planned rounds for the upcoming 2022 championship you planned to watch – before the cancellation of that year’s Chinese Grand Prix. Three-quarters of you – exactly 75% – said you planned to watch every grand prix over the year, whether it was live, replay or highlights.
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It was a different matter when it came to sprint races, however. With six sprint rounds proposed for the first time for 2022, but only three actually being held that season, only 68% of you said you planned to watch all six Saturday sprint races, with almost one-in-five of you telling RaceFans you had no plans to watch any of them.
Ahead of Formula 1’s longest season, it is the perfect time to revisit last year’s championship and ask how many of the 23 rounds and six sprint races you actually watched, and find out what your intentions are for the 30 total races that will take place over 2024.
As ever, please count not only the races you watched or plan to watch live but those you watched or intend to watch either on-demand,…
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