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[LRW]

I know this may be a controversial statement but.... I sometimes think there are too many races crammed into a season, and wish they would reduce them.

When a race weekend comes around, I tend to consume myself in it, watching all the practice sessions, qualification, and then the 6 odd hours of TV coverage on raceday.
As much as I love this, it really does take a big chunk out of my weekend (much to the annoyance of my wife), and with the social side of life, it can make the weekends very busy. When there are back-to-back races, it just writes off two weekends on the trot. I even found myself waking up this Sunday and thinking "can I be bothered to watch the race?". So sometimes I wish there was just one race a month, so I could have 1 full-on race weekend, and 3 normal social weekends.

I know the obvious thing to do, is to cut down what I watch on a race weekend. And Ive tried that. but I just find myself getting fidgety, as I know there is F1 on and Im missing it!

Anyway - am I the only one that thinks we are getting too much of a good thing....?

[What's Burning?]

I think 20 races is too much... have fewer GPs. Go back to on track testing.

It won't happen though, so much revenue is tied to TV rights and sponsorship agreements are also negotiated by the amount of races. I think 20 is going to be it for some time.

[scotty]

I just dedicate more time to the important races like Spa. The last two rounds i just watched the quali and race on delayed coverage, and that was it. Didn't miss out anything from it i think - no point spending all that time dedicated to what are most likely going to be crap races.

[LRW]

I just dedicate more time to the important races like Spa. The last two rounds i just watched the quali and race on delayed coverage, and that was it. Didn't miss out anything from it i think - no point spending all that time dedicated to what are most likely going to be crap races.

Yeah, I've tried to do this. But I have crap will power. I feel if I don't watch the whole thing live, that I'm going to miss out on something spectacular.

[racechick]

I love loads of races. Hate the off season. I just decide I may have to record some or watch them in strange places.

[myownalias]

I think that 16 races per season is the optimum; the main reason I don't watch races live is because they start a 7am US central time, and often Sunday morning's is the only time I get to have a lay in bed for a couple of extra hours. But the reality is that; Bernie will add more races and pay the teams more money as 'incentive' to agree to his terms.

[What's Burning?]

Sweet 16.

[Hammer278]

17-18 is optimum....I don't know, just bring back the F1 of the late 90s and it's an ideal F1 world for me.

[What's Burning?]

While we're wishing... bring back the stick!

[andrew]

I don't feel they have too many. Maybe if you just limit yourself to qualifying and the race you might not have a problem with the missus.

[f1boy]

I'm finding that races like Korea/India/China etc are pretty dull and lifeless. No atmosphere at the tracks and the racing is so, so.

I'm disappointed that Bernie had said that more European races are going to be cut to make way from boring tracks in far flung locations.

I think the New Jersey race will be pretty good as will the Bangcok race, just for the atmosphere alone, but please don't give us anymore Tilke tracks in the middle of nowhere.

[andrew]

F1 has to follow the money and (as MrE has said) this will unfortunatley mean less European races. I don't think the number of European races is a big deal - it's meant to be a world championship, not a European championship.

Nothing wrong with Tilke tracks.

[What's Burning?]

There is the track and then there is the atmosphere. It is never fun watching a race where the stands are empty. There's at least five circuits on the calendar where that happens.

Austin is sold out BTW.

[andrew]

It depends on how much of a market there is and I guess one of the biggest risks is then demand being over-estimated - like Turkey.

[LewEngBridewell]

Only just come across this thread thanks to the current state of the board index.

At the moment, I have too much on my mind to care about how many there are. I do look forward to them, very much, but I know what you mean LRW, when you say it consumes one's weekend. I suppose that's all part and parcel of being an F1 fan though.

I have nothing much else to say. I like having more than 16, and therefore am not opposed to having 19 or 20. But there does come a point when it does indeed become too much. Exceeding 20 would be pushing it, and would also take away some of what makes looking forward to a race weekend so special.

Cap it at 20 I say.