For those working in the paddock, it was the first sign of just how many weekends would be spent away from home next year. People joked about the upcoming boom in business for divorce lawyers around Oxfordshire, where most F1 teams are based, and shuddered at the copious amount of time about to be spent on flights through next season.
The number of races is not the surprising bit about the calendar. We knew that would be the case, given the plans to add Qatar and Las Vegas, bring back China and keep both Spa and Monaco. The 24-race limit set by the Concorde Agreement was always going to be hit.
