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Ecclestone: I want more F1 races
Bernie Ecclestone has reiterated his desire to see the FIA F1 World Championship calendar expand to 20 races a season.
Ecclestone has long been pushing to increase the number of races a year and next season there is provisionally 19 on the bill - two more than in '09, with South Korea and Canada joining the fold.
However, while more races would appeal to Ecclestone, it remains to be seen how the teams will feel, especially given the current economic climate - although a proposal to allow testing after a grand prix could be one way to appease them and help make it a bit more financially viable.
"I always said that it is possible [we could have a 20-race calendar] and obviously now there are more and more people falling for that idea," he told the official F1 website.
"Nobody needs testing. It was always, in my opinion, that testing costs money while racing brings money. Or let them test on Monday after the race when everybody is at the track, the hotels are paid for and that huge logistical effort is eliminated."
The number of F1 events has increased in recent years to accommodate new countries, and that has seen the calendar gradually creep up from 16 races per season, which was the norm in the 1990s.
Only last weekend Abu Dhabi hosted its inaugural F1 event and Ecclestone was impressed with the 5.554 kilometre track, which was designed by renowned F1 architect Hermann Tilke.
"I am overwhelmed and I think everybody felt the same when they saw this. It is monumental," he continued. "When I came here in April a lot was not finished but I definitely knew that there would be race in the autumn, although it was hard to believe it at that time.
"Look what they’ve done. It is almost a miracle come true thinking about where we started," he summed-up.
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