Although the results of this are yet to be seen, one of the GPDA directors, George Russell, has stated that the FIA will listen to the opinions of drivers and teams and, accordingly, will make the schedule “more sustainable” in the future.
The current King’s Class racing calendar has received a lot of criticism because despite the teams’ efforts, the distribution of races is still not “sustainable enough” and “logical”. For example, the Middle East races were followed by a weekend in Australia, then came Baku, Miami and Imola – in other words, three more race locations located in very remote parts of the world.
In addition to the “nonsensical” arrangement, the triple weekends (teams have to “survive” twice this year) are also criticized, saying that these events are too stressful for the stables’ staff. Looking at the calendar, these criticisms fall on deaf ears.
On the other hand, George Russell, who also acts as director of the GPDA, expects an improvement, because based on his statement, the FIA and F1 leaders will listen to the feedback of teams and drivers and will adjust the schedule in the future. “I think our collective contribution is very strong, and Stefano (Domenicali, F1 Director) is very open to opinions and conversations.” – Tell.
“There is a lot of talk about how sustainable the current calendar is, going from the Middle East to America and then back to Europe. I think that will change in the coming years. I don’t think it makes sense for the fans anyway” he added.
As for the solution, from a logistical point of view, many people prefer to “tie” the Australian weekend with Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and prefer to see the weekend in Miami and Canada as part of the “American tour” (i.e. Austin, Mexico, Brazil and Las Vegas). Russell knows, of course, that this is complicated by many factors, such as the weather and requests from the organizers.
“The weather is a limiting factor and we also compete in certain events. Street courses also have their own restrictions, such as when they open. But I definitely think the Australian race should come after a race in the Middle East. Everyone flew there a week before the race, including In that the mechanics have already lost three or four days. It would be useful to arrange that immediately after the race in the Middle East is over.” Note the British pilot.
According to Russell, the stress caused by the increasingly long and crowded calendar could be reduced if only one free practice was held on Friday afternoon. “This way, there will be less pressure on the teams that they have to get to on Wednesday. If the first training is on a Friday morning, you must be there on Thursday. If we could arrange their travel only on Thursday, we would gain about a month if we add up the days. We get more time to be at home, sleep in our own bed, which is a huge thing for circus workers.” He said.
George Russell (Photo: XPB)
