Last Updated on September 27 2024, 12:12 am

Formula One today is truly a global sport and now with 24 events each year across 52 weeks the pressure is on for all involved to deliver for an extended period of time. This year there will be just over thirteen weeks between the final event of 2024 and the season opener in Melbourne on March 12-14th.

F1 now has another month long break following the Singapore Grand Prix before the first of the last six weekends of the season. When the teams arrive in Austin they are in for a gruelling schedule of three races over consecutive weeks then they take another break of two more weekends before the final triple header which includes Las Vegas, Qatar and Abu Dhabi (in order).

With six Grand prix in eight weekends, the FIA attempted to sweeten the pill for the FD1 circus by planning the four week break after Singapore. Yet for F1 fans having two one month in season breaks disrupts the routine of life and the schedules families need to plan for.

 

 

 

Verstappen criticises F1 scheduling

Its appears the FIA’s attempt at a considerate approach to scheduling the F1 race weekends has backfired. Reigning world champion felt it important to weigh in on the matter stating: “I’ve always said it’s quite a lot of races that we have in the calendar. But I think for me, it’s more just travelling with the time zone differences, between Vegas and Qatar. You’re flying almost to the other side of the world again, which I think we can do a little bit of a better job if we do triple-headers, that they are a bit closer together. For me, that would make a bit more sense, so that’s probably something that we have to look at.”

For most travellers, long haul flights going west to east are the most difficult to deal with. For example, a ten hour flight moving forward ten time zones would mean the traveller would arrive at the time they originally boarded the aeroplane. But they are ten hours away from the local bedtime.

This example is not possible given the global time zone allocations, but the flight from the F1 race in Las Vegas to Doha in Qatar in just three days is one of 8,000 miles, 16 hours flying time and a difference of ten hours ahead of the point of departure. Whatever time you arrive in Doha on this schedule means you need to extend your day 10 hours to get on to local time.

An average waking day of 16-18 being extended by ten hours is sure to mess up the body clock. In Singapore F1 stays on European time and so there is no adjustment to be made.

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F1 events should be regionalised

Verstappen argues that races shield be regionalised to prevent the kind of schedule the teams face air the end of this season. In days of F1 yore, Bernie Ecclestone used to try and keep races in a similar location as far apart on the calendar as possible.

Venues would argue being close to another the following week would affect their tickets sales. Now F1 sells out months in advance at most of its venues, though a few of the autocratic states never sell out.

Verstappen makes his feelings heard by stating: “If we’re going to do so many races at least make sure that they are closer together. But again, of course, it depends on ticket sales. At the end of the day you have to come to a bit of a middle ground, right? It’s a long flight, Vegas to Qatar.

“But then, of course, you’re in Qatar, you fly to Abu Dhabi, which is fine. For me, that is not a problem. But yeah, end of the season, when you’re getting a bit tired, it’s easier also to get sick. And then actually flying for a long period of time is not helping.”

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Prevailing climates makes an efficient F1 calendar tough

Of course Formula One has to take into consideration a number of factors when scheduling races, most importantly the prevailing weather conditions in that part of the world. Last year the race in Qatar was held early October and the heat suffered by the drivers was extreme.

To mitigate that the race in the desert has been moved to the penultimate slot on the calendar which this year is December the first, but of course this means it now follows Vegas whose team year deal with F1 insists the event is held the same weekend each year.

This weekend was previously the quietest for the hotels, casino’s and restaurants in Las Vegas and after year one of the sport racing down the strip, the local business reported sales of three times that of the Super Bowl weekend, which was held in February this year.

Its unusual for two back to back races to be held just 360 miles apart from each other given the promoters are concerned the rival venue will attract more visitors than theirs. Yet Abu Dhabi and Qatar are ideologically significantly different, and for some time severed relationships between each other. Qatar also follows the same Islamic school of thought as Saudi Arabia (Wahabism), meanwhile, UAE follows diverse Islamic schools of thought.

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The Vegas/Qatar insurmountable problem

Further given neither race pays its way through ticket sales but is used by the relative countries governments to promote tourism in their country, the issue of competition is null and void.

F1 personnel are paid the big bucks for what they do, they are often leaders in their particular field of expertise. So for some it appears rich for them to complain after almost a month off, that they have three triple headers with the last one including an 8,000 mile commute and a ten hour time difference.

Yet Verstappen is right, at there end of the longest season in F1 history, the trip from Vegas to Abu Dhabi is clearly ridiculous in just over three days. Of course to ensure Qatar is cool enough for the drivers and to meet the deal with Las Vegas for the exact same weekend each year, the compromise is unfortunately necessary.

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Details behind Red Bull row over Aston Martin disclosure of Newe

Adrian Newey leaves Red Bull: Details of his move to Aston Martin revealed – Adrian Newey’s now legendary association with Red Bull Racing in Formula One has officially come to an end as new details have emerged about his high-profile move to Aston Martin.

These revelations, provided by his manager Eddie Jordan, clarify the circumstances of the move and address recent criticism from Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. The move marks a significant shift in the F1 landscape, with Newey, one of the sport’s most influential designers, now set to lend his expertise to Aston Martin from 2025… READ MORE