Ben Sulayem: FIA have to have two teams for more than 24 F1 races

The F1 calendar has been stretched over the years as more countries showed interest in hosting races, and the number of races is currently 24.

This is the most number of races we have had in F1 history, and while the Concorde Agreement allows for 25 races per season, it seems Formula One Management (FOM) with CEO Stefano Domenicali at the helm are satisfied with 24.

Domenicali recently told F1’s Beyond the Grid podcast: "I think 24 is the right number. I would say this is the number which we should target to be stable for a long time."

Ben Sulayem, the president of F1's governing body, agrees but also adds his organization cannot support more than 24 races.

Speaking to Motorsport.com, Ben Sulayem commented on the prospect of having more than 24 races, he said: "You cross a barrier where you need two teams, we can’t have [more]. Logistically, then I have to have two teams."

The matter is not only about the FIA supporting an F1 calendar with more than 24 races, as there should be consideration of how that affects F1 team personnel and drivers who spend most of the year on the road and risk being fatigued.

"Can the drivers take it? I just want to know," Ben Sulayem added. "Let's just be sensible and logical about it. Can the drivers take it physically and mentally? This is a question I will ask the drivers. And what about the teams?

"As for the FIA, we cannot do it with this one team. We have to have a rotation of two teams, when it comes to the staff on the ground," he maintained.

The FIA president credited FOM for being "sensible" on the topic; he revealed: "They [FOM] never came back and said: ‘Oh, we need more.’ No way they did. What they are after is quality and that's why we have this good relationship with them.

'I mean, I will not stop [them] to go to 25, because it is their right, OK? [In the end] it's up to them," Ben Sulayem admitted referring to the current Concorde Agreement.

"But they are the ones who don't want to add [more races at the moment]. Because they know that it becomes [a matter] of fatigue then. So they have their own reasons [for keeping the amount of races on 24]," he concluded.