planetf1.com

It seems that next year the Spanish Grand Prix is following Germany's example and alternating between races every year.

I think we should do the same in a few other places, to eliminate some of the deadwood on the calendar, to help a few places cut their losses, and to increase exposure around the world.

Some ideas:

Asian Grand Prix (rotating between Malaysia and Singapore)
Arabian Grand Prix (rotating between Bahrain and Abu Dhabi)
European Grand Prix (rotating between Hungary and Turkey)
The Grand Prix of Europe (rotating between one off races in UK, Germany, Spain, France and Italy)

Might also free up some room for outings to Russia, Argentina, Scandinavia and Mexico every now and again.

Scandinavia? Race in bergen where it rains often?

I think some sort of system like the one you are suggesting will have to happen eventually because there just won't be enough space on the calendar otherwise.

There are a few races that could still be squeezed into the calender just going off the 2013 one. A month off from Malaysia to China. 3 weeks between Bahrain and Spain. Then, there is at least a week gap between the next 4 races. Then, you have the summer layoff between July and Aug.

In fact, there are only 4 back to back racing weekends in 2013 out of the 19 scheduled events.

Killing off F1 in its traditional heartlands for the sake of an idealistic notion of taking it to places with no motorsport history is certainly popular with Mr Ecclestone, but fans should not rush to support the idea.

Imposing F1 top-down on a country with no tradition for the sport gives us the kind of scenario that we've seen - of empty grandstands and after the initial government (taxpayer) money runs out, eventual failure and retreat. Most of the countries you list there are at the very core of F1 history. We've already lost France, and you would also sacrifice UK, Germany and Italy, where there are passionate and knowledgeable fans who will actually attend and make the race commercially viable, not to mention giving the drivers the live audience they deserve.

State-subsidised races please Ecclestone, who can rake in easy money from the taxpayers of the countries where governments bid to be an F1 host for their own prestige, but I don't believe this is in the real interests of either the sport, or the people in the countries concerned.

I believe the rotating Spanish GPs are due to financial losses. The other countries would be happy to pay to host every year, except maybe Korea.

As a fan in the US, I am so happy that Formula 1 returned here this year (especially being nearby for me), but I do think F1 should take a more cautious approach to breaking new ground with new races.

I can see an advantage if a new site were added every few years, giving that location a chance to establish if it will sink or swim and deserves to replace a more traditional location where the core of the fan base is. Instead of New York/New Jersey replacing the European GP, it should come in as a replacement for Korea or Bahrain or another location that didn't establish itself in those few years.

I say this as someone who became a fan of F1 back in the '80s when ESPN would carry the races.... something about watching these state-of-the-art vehicles rocketing through the Black Forest, or Estoril or the A1 Ring... or some of the other classic European circuits, then I understood... while my grasp was poor, I liked what I saw and wanted to watch and learn more. It seems a shame that F1's European footprint is continuing to shrink.

I'd much rather see F1 reduce some of the layoffs between a few races to increase the calender by a race or 2, and slow the stampede toward "new markets" in favor of an approach that replaces poorly supported 'new market' races with other 'new markets' rather than sacrificing traditional locations for new markets that show after a few seasons that they are supportive markets for F1.