Former Formula 1 champion Mika Hakkinen has weighed in on the sport’s calendar debate, telling fans that F1 should be embracing city centre destinations. Speaking exclusively to Express Sport, Hakkinen said the calendar “has to be mixed” and that he is “not so critical” of the recent surge in street circuits.
Fans have become increasingly frustrated with the growth of street circuits in recent years, often at the expense of F1’s traditional heartland tracks. At the peak of Hakkinen’s career, there were only a handful of street circuits on the calendar – Adelaide until 1995, Melbourne, Montreal and Monaco. In comparison, there are seven on the 2026 calendar, covering destinations as diverse as Miami and Baku.
Classic tracks pushed aside
Meanwhile, more old-school circuits like Zandvoort and Imola have been axed from the calendar, while Spa-Francorchamps, home of Hakkinen’s famous 2000 overtake on Michael Schumacher, has been pushed into a rotation slot. The Circuit de Catalunya has also been sidelined to a rotation slot as Madrid took over as the Spanish Grand Prix host.
However, the new ‘Madring’ track at the IFEMA exhibition centre then served up a drab and uninspiring race which left many fans furious.
Hakkinen’s mixed calendar stance
When asked if F1 should retain more of its classic tracks, Hakkinen said he wasn’t concerned about the rise of street locations. Express Sport picked Hakkinen’s brains on the issue at Allwyn x McLaren Racing: Live in Athens, a demonstration event organised at the OAKA Olympic Sports Complex by the team’s partner and multi-national gaming company, Allwyn.
Greece is yet to host a Formula One Grand Prix, but Bernie Ecclestone had previously entertained talks of a ‘Mediterranean Grand Prix’ to be located around the Piraeus port near Athens. However, the discussions eventually led nowhere.
Speaking exclusively to Express Sport, Hakkinen said: “It has to be mixed. Personally, I’m not so critical. It has to serve all different types of fan base. That’s what is important. It has to be mixed. That’s the way it should be and that’s the way it is.”
New street tracks ahead
F1 is set to welcome another new street track to the calendar in the coming years, with a new Saudi Arabian circuit at Qiddiya currently under construction.
Speaking ahead of Allwyn’s Athens demo run, Louise McEwan, Chief Marketing Officer at McLaren, told Express Sport: “The way [F1] are approaching that with rotation will ultimately mean that more cities and more countries will get a taste of Formula One.
“And that’s only going to grow our fandom. It’s got to be, overall, a benefit to all of us. I think when you show up in a market, it’s got to have the performance narrative.
“It’s got to be a good race circuit otherwise the drivers don’t like it or things don’t work and that’s tough sometimes with a street circuit.
“That’s what they are working hard to do and we have seen some success over the last couple of years. I think Las Vegas, for example, has come a really long way.”
