European races likely to be alternated – F1 CEO

Mar.2 (GMM) Stefano Domenicali admits Formula 1 may begin to annually alternate some of the European grands prix from 2026.

The sport’s ever-swelling 24-race calendar is now attracting widespread criticism, but yet another event has been added to the schedule for 2026 – Madrid.

“Signing the contract to host the race in Madrid was very important for us because it showed that there is still a lot of interest in Formula 1 in Europe, although many believed that we should leave Europe due to the lack of interest,” said Domenicali, the CEO of F1, representing rights holder Liberty Media.

“But we proved that this is not so.”

But adding one more race in Europe seems to have tipped Domenicali over the edge in terms of requiring that some race hosts start to annually alternate their events.

The first candidate is likely to be Barcelona – the existing race in Spain, which will lose its official Spanish GP title to Madrid in 2026, almost certainly reverting to the European GP if a deal with Domenicali is struck.

“In Barcelona there is a huge desire to keep hosting the grand prix there in the coming years. In 2026 we will have a lot of grands prix, mainly in Europe, and we are considering various options,” the F1 CEO admitted.

“In 2026 you will see something interesting. We are currently in talks with promoters in Europe and will be able to announce something soon.”