Get more flexible with F1 calendar – Grosjean

Romain Grosjean has called on Formula 1 to alternate the race calendar each season to offer more variety among the circuits visited.

The 2020 campaign has, of course, been hugely different to normal because of the global health pandemic, which meant the schedule has had to be confined exclusively to Europe and the Middle East. All races in the Americas, Asia and Australia have been cancelled.

Therefore circuits have returned to the calendar or been added for the first time, namely Mugello, Nurburgring, Portimao, Imola and Istanbul.

After the Tuscan Grand Prix proved a hit, several drivers said they would be eager to return to Mugello which made its debut on the F1 race calendar having previously only been used for testing.

Haas driver Grosjean would now like to see F1 be more flexible in its approach towards the calendar rather than sticking to the same venues every year.

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Asked in a Q&A on the Haas official website whether he would like to see circuits such as Mugello be used on a rotational basis, the Frenchman replied: “Definitely, yes.

“I think this year, with having a different calendar, it’s really brought the spotlight on some circuits.

“My personal view is that there is merit in swapping one year with the typical calendar, with one that’s more like this year, and back again. That way we wouldn’t have the same routine.”

Grosjean’s team-mate Kevin Magnussen was also asked the same question and while non-committal about the structure of the calendar, he did express a liking for the Tuscan venue.

“I thought Mugello was great, I really enjoyed driving the track,” said the Dane.

“Even though it was high speed, high downforce, and we all thought it would be very difficult to overtake, it actually was possible to overtake. We ended up seeing quite a few passes in the race. It wasn’t just in F3 and F2, but even in F1 where following the car ahead is even more difficult.

“I think Formula One would benefit from old-school tracks like Mugello – more exceptional things can happen, the consequence of making a mistake – a driver mistake is bigger and therefore more spectacular in the race.”

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