Dennis against expanding calendar

The sport's commercial boss Bernie Ecclestone again hinted on Sunday that he wants to add more races to the schedule in the next few years - with his sights firmly set on having 20 events per season.

In an interview with the New Sunday Times, Ecclestone said: "We're going to have races in South Korea, Russia and India in three years' time. We're also going to have a race in Abu Dhabi in 2009.

"So there will be two races in that part of the world. And now we're dealing with Singapore too. We will have 20 races within the next three years. It will probably be increased to 18 or 19 next year."

But such an expansion plan has been dismissed by Dennis, who thinks there is a danger of diluting the sport's impact by having too many races each year.

"I think 17 is probably the right number," the McLaren boss said. "It is pretty arduous, this. If we want to create a bunch of rules that are so constraining that you can't develop your racing car, then you can put the number of races up.

"But if you want to have competitive GP racing, there has to be enough time to develop or design the car.

"The time in which you are not racing is critical to develop a Formula One car. I am a purist. I think there should be four months when we don't race.

"I think football is over saturated - a classic example of over saturating a sport with far too much exposure. It is confusing to most people who watch football with different levels of championships, especially in a World Cup year.

"F1 needs to have a very clear beginning and a very clear end, and that is achievable at let's say around the 18 race mark.

"I would also say there is a point, and 18 races is right on the cusp, when you need to have two Grand Prix teams to accommodate the impact it has on people's private lives.

"We have a percentage of people that went to Australia and will not be home until after Bahrain. That is five weeks away from home. It is a long time, an awful long time, to be away with a regular job."

Ecclestone does not agree with the over-saturation view on football, and thinks that the F1 calendar can be expanded by shortening the winter break.

"People follow football and there are millions of matches. So I don't know," said Ecclestone.

"What we have to do is extend the championship period. At the moment we have a 4.5-month 'off' period, so we can start a bit earlier and end a bit later."