Martin Brundle insists Formula 1 moving towards ‘extreme’ 25-race season

The looks likely to further populate its calendar in future campaigns

Sky Sports pundit Martin Brundle says it would be “extreme” to have 25 races in the Formula 1 season but that he has “no doubt” it will happen.

The 2022 campaign will see a record 23 races as the sport looks likely to replace the axed Sochi Grand Prix following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But it looks as though the F1 will look to move to expand the race year again with events in Las Vegas and South Africa the likely candidates.

And though F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has said it would be possible to go to 30 a season, Brundle doesn’t think the sport will go that far.

“There’s no doubt we are going to 25 races a season, which is extreme,” he told Sky. “I don’t think we will go to 30. I think the point [Domenicali] was making was: We could go to 30 races as there’s that much interest. Formula 1 is going stratospheric at the moment, so I think he was just making the point: ‘We could easily do 25 – if I want to, I could do 30.’

“The regulations limit it to 24 at the moment, but I’m sure the teams will all agree that if there’s more money to be had and more racing to be had, they will go to 25.”

The 2022 season began last Sunday with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz bagging a one-two at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Defending champion Max Verstappen and his Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez suffered car issues that meant they didn’t finish the race.

But the Dutch-Belgian is keen to move on from the blunder at this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. He said: “Last weekend was a tough one for all of us to take, we win and lose as a team and we’ll come back stronger this week.

“We have a good package and we were competitive in Bahrain, so there are positives to take from the weekend, and we have a very long season ahead.”