F1 calendar: Belgian GP out, South African GP in?

Good news! It sounds as though F1 bosses are working on a deal to bring the South African Grand Prix back to the sport’s calendar after a three-decade absence.

However… bad news! It also sounds like there’s a real risk that the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps could vanish as a result. Cue conflicting emotions, right?

Let’s deal with the good stuff first. F1 hasn’t visited Africa since the last race at Kyalami way back in 1993, when Alain Prost won from pole for Williams ahead of Ayrton Senna and Mark Blundell.

Returning to the continent has been an objective of owners Liberty Media ever since it acquired the sport in 2017, and having successfully made inroads into the US market with races in Miami and Las Vegas, it’s now focussed on breaking into the last major region that F1 doesn’t currently visit. Unless of course you’re itching to see Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc battle for pole at the poles. Arctic Grand Prix, anyone?

In any case, the arrival of South Africa would mean a daunting 24 races (though it still isn’t clear when F1 will be able to return to China), and given the pressure being placed on teams by an increasingly air miles-heavy calendar, something would probably have to give.

‘But Spa?!’ we hear you cry. ‘Why lose the best drivers’ circuit in the world?’ It’s a good question, and it’s hard to imagine the iconic sight of F1 cars streaking through Eau Rouge and Raidillon being consigned to history.

However, it’s not the track that’s the problem. It’s the venue. Despite being the longest F1 circuit at 7km, Spa only has the capacity for 70,000 fans; less than half of Silverstone, and fewer even than the relatively compact track at Zandvoort.

This limits the amount of money Spa can make from ticket sales over a weekend, and thus limits the fee the circuit can afford to pay F1 for the right to host a grand prix. And this is F1 after all: cash is still king.

The other factor is the infrastructure. Transport links around Spa are poor, with no train station and only one main road passing the circuit. This makes it difficult for fans to get in and out, and when last year’s two-lap ‘race’ was washed out by the weather, thousands then got stuck in the muddy car parks that weren’t equipped to deal with the rain.

So is that the end for Spa? Maybe not quite. One idea being considered is to have a wildcard round in the calendar, where F1 rotates through tracks that don’t have a permanent place on the calendar.

Thoughts on the above? You know the drill: proceed to the comments section forthwith…