Piastri warns against too full calendar: 'Shouldn't overdo it'
F1 News
- GPblog.com
Formula 1 is almost ready for the summer break. For a month, drivers and teams have time to recharge their batteries. This year there are finally 22 Grands Prix (due to the cancellation of GPs China and Imola), in 2024 the calendar is jam-packed. That will be quite a burden, not least for the families of everyone working in Formula 1.
Oscar Piastri is only 22 and in his first year in Formula 1. The McLaren driver calls the calendar for '24 'tough'. "I think we, as a sport, need to be sensible," Piastri told GPblog and others. "I am enjoying going racing as much as I can, but there are thousands of people that do this as a job and are already spending a lot of time away from their families, which will be more again. So, yeah, I think in the future we need to be sensible with not expanding the calendar too much further. "
McLaren's Piastri understands complexity F1 calendar
Piastri does a little maths: "I think 24 races already, we are getting close to nearly one every second weekend on average. Some of the triple headers next year are challenging, especially in Vegas, Qatar, Abu Dhabi. But, yeah, I think we just need to be sensible. I think all the teams are finding ways to manage people sustainably. But, yeah, with the cost cap and everything like that, it is tricky to rotate people in and out. So, I think we just need to be sensible as a sport. I think it is great to be going to these new places and showcasing our sport better, but I think we need to be careful not to overdo it too."
Besides the regular summer break, there are three weeks off after Singapore. It is possible that the FIA will counter-argue that there is thus a break twice in the season, reducing the workload. "Yeah, I think having those breaks in the season will probably be nice at those points. But at the same time, we are starting earlier and finishing later. So, the time over Christmas is probably a bit shorter. So, yeah, kind of taking it from one place and putting it in another."
Therefore, Piastri is more likely to think of the following solution: "I think going into some of the triple headers and especially the flyaways, having two weekends off or three weekends off instead of just one will be a nice welcome for most people, I'm sure. But, yeah, I don't think we really want to get to a stage where we are having pre-season testing at the end of January and still finishing a week before Christmas, even if we have gaps in between all the races."