Hot Take: Will the 2027 F1 Season Be a Flop?
In case you missed it - the F1 2027 schedule recently came out, and fans are feeling conflicted. On one hand, there are a lot of new and exciting grands prix. On the other hand, the overload of sprint races (10!) and the return of some less entertaining races has disappointed many. Let’s hit the highlights and predict if it will be better or worse than the current season!
As I was scrolling through comments online, I saw that most people were upset about one thing above all of the others - the numerous sprint weekends, specifically in Monaco. The 2027 season added 4 more sprint weekends to the current 6, with the majority occurring within the first half of the season. This year, sprint weekends happened in China, Miami, Canada, Great Britain, the Netherlands, and Singapore. In 2027, however, some of these locations are getting swapped out in favor of sprints in other countries. The ten tracks on the sprint tour for next year include consistent options like Canada and Great Britain, Brazil and Qatar (which were sprint locations in 2025), as well as adding new races like Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Monaco, Monza, and Abu Dhabi. Most of these tracks are fast-paced grands prix that are suited for high speed sprint sessions - except one. Monaco sticks out like a sore thumb here, and that’s what many fans are upset about. For the past couple of seasons, continuing to race in Monaco has been a point of contention. The narrow track and impossible overtake strategies have raised the question - do we still need this weekend on the calendar in the 21st century? The history, iconicness, and luxury of Monte Carlo keep the tradition going for now, but a sprint weekend in the sleepiest race of the season may change things, most likely for worse.
Monaco is well known in the F1 world because of its lavish lifestyle, not competitive on-track features. Photo courtesy of GP Destinations.
Another change for F1 fans to get used to will be starting the season somewhere other than Australia. For the past two years, the first round has been in Melbourne, but this year we’ll be kicking the season off in Bahrain, reminiscent of the setup that ran from 2021-2023. This year, because of the conflict in the Middle East, the Bahrain Grand Prix has been moved to Malaysia, so it will hopefully be good to begin next season back in Sakhir. One race that fans are not looking forward to as much is the Spanish Grand Prix in Madrid. The Madring hosted its first F1 race last weekend and there is not too much to say other than it was underwhelming to say the least. The podium finishers believed that the results should have been different, the track’s features didn’t live up to expectations, and overall it was an average race weekend. I believe that it deserves at least a second chance, but not everyone was thrilled to see it on the 2027 calendar.
What fans were ecstatic to see, however, was the inclusion of the Portuguese Grand Prix to be held in Portimao and the Turkish Grand Prix that will be staged in Istanbul. F1 has set up camp in Portugal before: the race was part of the championship calendar from 1958 to 1960 and then from 1984 to 1996. Later, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Formula 1 needed more tracks to host races, causing it to become a race location again during the 2020 and 2021 seasons. I am very much awaiting this grand prix, as Portugal is one of my dream countries to visit and I know absolutely nothing about the track there and how drivers compete on it. Similarly, F1 raced in Turkey a while back from 2005 and 2011, and was then brought back during the pandemic for the 2020 and 2021 seasons. As the years have gone by, many drivers have cycled through the grid and the regulations have changed drastically, meaning that both of these races should be unpredictable and virtually new.
I am thrilled for the Turkish Grand Prix to be revamped next season! Photo courtesy of Reuters.
As the 2026 season gets closer to wrapping up, fans can only hope that the 2027 season will hold surprises and high-quality competition! Yes, there are some controversial aspects of the calendar right now, but F1 is such a flexible sport and always changing that it’s impossible to predict what next season will even look like. I am definitely enjoying this year’s current championship, but I am also already looking ahead to the 2027 season with enthusiasm - and I hope you are too! As always, thanks for reading, and don’t forget to follow @thewinningformulablog on Instagram for fun and relatable F1 content.
Lights out and away we go,
Lucy xx
