Carlos Sainz keeps asking F1 if calendar is ‘getting out of hand’ in ‘Champions League’ comparison

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Carlos Sainz believes F1 must look to the UEFA Champions League for the ideal model for its calendar, as F1 risks reaching a point where fans do not care if they miss a race.

Williams driver Sainz says he is in constant contact with Formula 1 bosses about the number of rounds on the calendar, which will sit at 24 Grands Prix and six F1 Sprint events in 2026. It marks the joint-most rounds on an F1 calendar thus far, having stayed at its peak since 2024.

But the number of events on the schedule may increase as soon as 2027, as F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali revealed at the 2026 Bahrain pre-season test that talks are ongoing over having 12 Sprints. F1 has committed to 24 being the maximum number of Grands Prix per season.

Carlos Sainz thinks F1 must follow UEFA’s Champions League model with the calendar

Sainz believes F1 would risk the calendar getting “out of hand” if there were more than 24 Grands Prix on the schedule. The 31-year-old has seen the calendar grow from 19 races in his rookie season with Toro Rosso in 2015 to 21 races in 2016, 22 in 2021 and 24 in 2024.

READ MORE: All you need to know about the 2026 F1 season, from calendar to drivers

If the calendar were to grow further, Sainz thinks F1 would risk reaching a point where there are so many races that fans would not care if they missed one. So, he urges F1 to keep some exclusivity, as UEFA does for the Champions League compared to a national league season.

“I don’t think there will be fewer races. But there won’t be many more, either,” Sainz told Cadena SER. “In my conversations with the bosses, I keep asking them if they think things are getting a bit out of hand.

“And it’s not that they’ve promised me anything, but it does seem like 24 is the number they’ve set as their limit. So, I hope they don’t go much further.

“Speaking of the Champions League, I think it’s a bit the same. A Champions League match is great to watch because you don’t get to see it every day or every week. And I think F1 has to maintain that spirit, not showing it every day.

“Because otherwise it becomes a bit more like La Liga, which is very interesting, but there are many more matches, and missing one isn’t the end of the world.”

F1 is close to reaching an agreement to return to Turkey from the 2027 season

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Changes are coming to the F1 calendar in 2027, as Zandvoort will fall away after staging the 2026 Dutch Grand Prix. F1 has confirmed it will return to Portugal in 2027 in place of racing in the Netherlands, as well as Spa becoming a rotational round with Barcelona from 2027.

Additionally, AS-WEB reports that Istanbul Park is close to securing a deal to get the Turkish Grand Prix back on the calendar from 2027 on a long-term basis. Istanbul Park will need to improve its infrastructure, as F1 is likely to make it a back-to-back flyaway event with Baku.

It could also become another rotational event, as F1 intends to have 20 alternating venues and 14 permanent circuits so the calendar stays at 24 rounds. F1 could even look to have a total of 30 tracks under contract to stage races, but still only have 14 as permanent venues.