F1 will listen to drivers over calendar increase concerns

Liberty Media insists any decisions over plans to increase Formula One's calendar will be made in the "spirit of partnership" and says it will consider drivers' concerns over possible expansions.

Following the longest ever season in F1's history last year, the current calendar stands at 20 races, while it is due to expand back to 21 in 2018. In Thursday's drivers' press conference, McLaren's Fernando Alonso voiced his concerns over plans to increase the number of races per season beyond 21 in future years, admitting he might retire from the sport altogether if such a move were to happen.

"I started when the calendar was 16 races, plus the tests, and now we keep on increasing the races year after year and I think we are in a number that is quite demanding already," Alonso explained. "The life you have, between the preparation, the sponsor events, the tests, the commitments you have plus 20-21 races, I think is already enough.

"If there are 25 or 26 races or whatever, I think it's good in one aspect but in other aspects, in how demanding becomes your life, at this point of my career, I consider that a good quality of life is more important than to do more seasons in F1. If the calendar stays between 20-21 I'll be happy to continue. If it's increasing, like NASCAR -- they have 40 or 50 races -- it's not for me. It's better for other drivers."

When asked to weigh in with his thoughts on a possible calendar expansion, Alonso's former McLaren teammate, Lewis Hamilton, replied: "I haven't really given it any thought but I understand what Fernando's saying and tend to agree with him."

Speaking on Friday, commercial managing director, Sean Bratches, insisted that drivers, along with teams, partners, and the FIA, will be considered before any final decision is made.

"Every time we've had this conversation, we've gone in with the spirit of partnership," Bratches said. "I think we've always been very up front that the decisions we're going to make going forward are going to be based on a partnership with our partners, the teams, the drivers, the FIA.

"We're going to be very consultative going forward and very thoughtful, and we're going to do things in the interest of growing the sport and the fan base. I think looking at that collectively, we'll be having a lot of conversations with our partners before making those decisions, as we've said."

F1 chairman and CEO, Chase Carey, added his number one priority is to ensure "quality over quantity" and revealed Liberty Media is evaluating adding a second race in the U.S., with New York among the cities being considered.

"Our focus right now is making the races we have this year, 20 races we have this year, the 21 races we have next year, be everything they can and should be," Carey explained. "We think we can take those events to another level and that should be our focus and our priority at this point.

"Engaging and evaluating opportunities we talked about, adding another race in the US in a destination city such as New York, Miami, Las Vegas, continuing to evaluate those things, but priority one is really focusing on making the events we have great. It's a quality over quantity focus for us."

SOURCE;ESPN