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The revelation that Formula 1’s Belgian Grand Prix will be held in four of the next six seasons is the first hint of how the championship will manage the much-talked-about prospect of rotating races.
Rotations are not entirely new to F1. The most prominent example in the modern era is when Hockenheim and the Nurburgring shared F1’s race in Germany, alternating as hosts from across the late 2000s and early 2010s. Another from decades earlier is the British Grand Prix swapped between being held at Silverstone, Aintree and Brands Hatch.
These are instances of the venue changing to ensure a national grand prix continued annually, though. That annual presence is usually key, not least because that assurance and regularity gives a race the best chance of building familiarity with the audience and justifying investments.
Of course, there are examples of races falling off the calendar briefly – or not so briefly – because of specific issues before returning. But it’s new for grands prix being deliberately held non-consecutively, trading a place on the calendar with others, as a more formal arrangement. And it has been coming for a while.
F1’s popularity boom, especially this side of the COVID-19 pandemic, has led to more and more countries wanting to hold a race, or multiple races. The swelling of the calendar to a record 24 races has been an inevitable consequence but F1 insists that the schedule will grow no larger.
This means some races will disappear. The Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort is already ceasing after 2026, despite being a contender for rotation with Belgium – evidently what works for Spa does not appeal to those behind the Zandvoort race. Barcelona’s F1 race is also at risk with the long-term arrival of Madrid, as while they will both be on the 2026 calendar Barcelona will likely be a rotation at best beyond that.
Looking long-term, several European venues are locked in: Madrid (2035, starting in 2026), Silverstone (2034), Hungaroring (2032), Monza (2031), Monaco (2031), Spa (2031 on its new rotation) and the Red Bull Ring (2030). These are obviously not short-term candidates to trade slots.
But in the short-term, Imola (2025), Baku (2026) and Barcelona (2026) are all vulnerable. And there are other venues known to be interested. France, Germany and Turkey are all candidates. France fell off three years ago, Audi’s impending entry as a works team in 2026 has revived Germany’s prospects, and Turkey’s Istanbul Park has coveted a new F1 deal since its brief post-COVID return in 2020 and 2021.
Rotation does not just present an option for the struggling existing races to persevere, it could be a means for other races that have previously failed to make a permanent grand prix viable, or are new options that could be designed to work around short-term deals, to get on the calendar.
While it was once thought that ‘pairing up’ races by region could work quite neatly – for example, Spa/Zandvoort targeting a similar audience geographically – the alternative is simply for one or two slots on the schedule to be left for whatever races work best rotations.
The new Spa deal gives a baseline for how they could fit in moving forward. Taking Barcelona as an example, one place on the calendar would rotate as:
2026: Spa
2027: Spa
2028: Barcelona
2029: Spa
2030: Barcelona
2031: Spa
It depends how many serious candidates there are, how many decide like Zandvoort that it’s better to walk away, and what slots actually end up available. With several new races in the offing outside Europe, competition for places is only increasing.
The current 24-race schedule will definitely lose one race soon (the Dutch GP) and Imola is not expected to continue beyond its current deal. But one of those places will be taken in 2026 by Madrid, and in that season Baku and Barcelona (expiring after 2026) will still be on the calendar.
So, for 2026, there is one gap to fill. For 2027 and beyond there is more flexibility, though that changes again if F1 adds a race in Rwanda or Thailand.
There are a lot of moving parts, and therefore much scope for things to change, even if we now have the first firm example of what awaits the races that cannot command or justify a permanent place on the calendar.
