F1: Steiner not worried about changing calendar

(GMM) Formula 1 fans should not be alarmed about the changing nature of the annual race calendar.

The schedule is not just getting arduously longer with each passing season, new venues like Miami and Las Vegas are threatening to push out more traditional and historic European venues – with even Monaco not safe beyond 2022.

However, Haas boss Gunther Steiner says there’s no reason to worry.

“Today, the calendar consists of many different phases,” he is quoted by motorsport-magazin.com. “The races are no longer alike, as they were in the 80s and 90s, when everything always looked the same.

“Now we understand that there can be different approaches. For example, if you compare Austin and Miami, both of these events gather a huge amount of attention, although they are completely different in nature.

“At the same time, I think Barcelona should not try to reproduce what we saw in Miami, as there are already enough spectators without all of that.

“There are many truly advanced fans who want only one thing – to watch fast cars race. But then there are others who also like the fun parties, and it makes sense for such people to go to races like Miami.

“I think the public now has a choice,” Steiner added.

The biggest fear of some F1 ‘purists’, however, is that some of the most fabled venues, including Monaco, but also Spa, Monza and other traditional European markets will fall by the wayside.

Steiner insisted: “We are only losing the races that are not financially feasible.

“But the legacy of Formula 1 is not in danger. And if one of these classic races is excluded from the calendar for a year or two, then it can also come back, so I don’t see any problems there.”