Bernie Ecclestone, in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday, defended Formula One’s expansion into new territories ahead of the inaugural South Korean Grand Prix.
Ecclestone told The Guardian that there will probably be a cap on 20 races per season, which means dropping events.
F1 has expanded mainly in Asia in recent years, with South Korea getting on the map with an inaugural race on Sunday and an Indian Grand Prix set for 2011. In addition, the sport is set to return to the U.S. in 2012 and Russia to get a first race in 2014.
“We’re a world championship and so, by definition, we need to be in different parts of the world. In the end common sense has prevailed and we’ve expanded. It’s just having the courage to do it,” said Ecclestone.
The 2010 calendar will see a record 20 races with the inclusion of India, and while Ecclestone says “there’s no magic number — it’s what is commercially viable” he also does not believe in a further growing number of season races.
“I think we’ll find a way to keep it to 20 somehow,” the long-time commercial rights boss Ecclestone said.
This should mean that other races, which are struggling, may have to fall by the wayside, with Ecclestone mentioning the Turkish GP because it lacks big crowds.
“Nothing is cast in stone,” Ecclestone said, given that the British GP in Silverstone and the Belgian race in Spa have also been briefly dropped in the past.
The Korean race was under threat due to construction delays and Ecclestone admitted to concerns that the race would have to possibly be scrapped.
“Last month I didn’t think it would be finished. And it would have been cancelled then — for sure. But the track has been inspected and passed. Everything’s OK,” he said.
Ecclestone turns 80 on October 28, but plans to continue going strong rather than retiring.
“What’s the difference being 79 one day and 80 the next? It’s the same ... The way I feel at the moment, why stop? I do it because I enjoy it,” he said.
