Ricciardo speaks out: '18 races is enough'

Next season the Formula 1 calendar will be even fuller than it is now. There will probably be 24 races, in all corners of the world. For the teams, all the travelling will be a logistical puzzle and a war of attrition.

“I think like around that mark that 18 is a good number,” Ricciardo told Speedcafe.com when asked what the right number of races was per season. “It’s also the stuff, like, the race weekend are… they’re four, sometimes five day weekends. And then, if you’ve got those back-to-back, or triple-headers, that’s what’s tiring.”

Adjusting schedules

Ricciardo warns that Formula 1 will have to change the weekend format if it wants to expand the calendar next season. “I think we could race 24 times [a year] and be okay, but the week has to look different to be able to achieve that properly. The schedules need to change, and the lead up needs to change, but it’s hard when the sport’s growing and you’re getting more sponsors and all the rest of it, it’s hard to then cut time."

Incidentally, it is still unclear whether Ricciardo himself will be active in Formula 1. McLaren wants to replace him with Oscar Piastri. It is possible that Alpine will soon offer Ricciardo a solution.