F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has warned that circuits cannot rely on their history alone to retain their place on the calendar.

Indeed, the Italian warns that even tracks like Monaco are not safe as the ever-changing demographic prefers the likes of Las Vegas.

Admitting that the schedule is unlikely to increase beyond 24 races any time soon, the F1 boss warns that "if a grand prix has historic value, it's a plus... but it's not enough.

"For many young fans today, racing in Monte Carlo compared to a new circuit in Las Vegas makes no difference," he tells Italy's Passa dal BSMT podcast.

"So history must be supported by a structure that looks to the future, that allows investment in infrastructure to improve, since tickets are not exactly cheap, to provide services to fans at all levels, and to allow countries to be financially present in a calendar that I think won't grow beyond the number of races we have today."

Other than infrastructure, Domenicali admits that the whole experience of attending a grand prix is changing. Indeed, the advances sent out by circuits these days are more about the music acts performing throughout the weekend other than the actual on track events, a far cry from when COTA needed the likes of Taylor Swift (2016), Justin Timberlake (2017) and Britney Spears (2018) to perform on Saturday nights, post-qualifying, just to get youngsters through the turnstiles and bums on seats - the actual race fans having long departed in preparation for next day's GP.

"F1 is no longer just in a sporting dimension, it's in an entertainment dimension," admits Domenicali. "Entertainment is a positive, beautiful, energising thing, and from this point of view, we are competing, but we must remain very attentive to what's going on around us."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Spindoctor, less than 1 minute ago

"If they scrap all those noisy, smelly, ecologically nasty cars, they could have more acts & extra room for 'bums on seats'.

More seriously if comes down to it, from an F1 RACING perspective, who on earth would promote Singapore above almost any other track? Maybe it's now a "Classic"?"

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2. Posted by BrightonCorgi, 2 hours ago

"History is the one thing F1 needs to cherish. Not dismiss it as yesterday's news.

There may be young fans coming to the races who don't care about the history, but they will as they get more passionate about the sport."

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3. Posted by Wokingchap, 5 hours ago

"I can't wait for the new series to start !"

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4. Posted by Editor, 5 hours ago

"@ Max Noble

Post of the decade!"

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5. Posted by Max Noble, 5 hours ago

"Totally! That’s why “Fifty shades of Grey” is SO much better than anything that loser Shakespeare wrote. Quick, new and simple beats classic, intelligent and worthy every time. Especially if there is a dollar involved.

Chase their dollars kill their brain cells. I think that’s a Liberty Media corporate mandate… "

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6. Posted by koko, 6 hours ago

"Of course. That's why Ferrari's special status should not matter much. ;-)"

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History is not enough, Domenicali warns classic tracks

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