Team boss rejects mechanic ‘complete joke’ complaints – Formula One has experienced explosive expansion in recent years, with a record-breaking 24-race calendar for the 2023 and 2024 seasons. While many in the paddock argue that this is the upper limit of what teams and personnel can take, former VCARB team principal Franz Tost has a very different perspective.
Known for his no-nonsense approach and outspoken nature, Tost believes that concerns about overworked mechanics are exaggerated. He believes that the current workload in F1 is much lighter than in previous eras, and has no sympathy for those who complain about long hours.
Tost: ‘It’s a complete joke’ to say mechanics are overworked
Despite ongoing debates about the sustainability of an ever-expanding calendar, Tost has dismissed the notion that F1 personnel are being pushed to their limits. He argues that the workload was far more demanding in the past and that today’s mechanics have it much easier.
“People always say that mechanics are overworked. That’s a complete joke. They’re not overworked at all,” he states bluntly.
Tost highlights one key factor that has significantly reduced the workload of the team personnel: the drastic reduction in in-season testing. In the past, teams not only competed on race weekends but also tested in between, resulting in an almost non-stop schedule.
“We used to race at the weekend and test on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday,” he explains. “We even had two cars and the same technicians and engineers. I never heard them complain about it.
This relentless testing regime meant that F1 personnel were constantly on the move, with little time to rest between races. Now, with in-season testing banned and limited pre-season testing, Tost believes mechanics enjoy a much more structured and manageable workload.
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The impact of testing bans on mechanics’ workloads
Before the introduction of strict testing restrictions, teams had the luxury of refining their cars during the season. However, this came at a cost to the mechanics, who had to prepare and maintain multiple cars for extensive testing sessions.
Unlike today, where much of the development work is carried out on sophisticated simulators in team factories, mechanics in earlier years were involved in continuous trackside operations.
With modern restrictions in place, F1 teams have moved towards factory-based research and development, shifting the burden away from mechanics travelling to race events. Tost sees this as a key reason why complaints about workload are misplaced.
Formula 1’s curfew: A game changer for mechanics
Another significant change that has altered working conditions in Formula One is the introduction of strict curfews. Unlike in the past, when teams could work overnight to fine-tune their cars before race weekends, modern F1 regulations impose strict limits on working hours.
“Now there’s a curfew in F1, which means it’s over at 9pm. Until 8am the next morning. My God, what more do they want?” Tost remarked.
The current regulations require teams to stop working at 9pm to ensure that mechanics and engineers have a mandatory rest before the next working day. These measures are in stark contrast to previous decades, when all-nighters in the garage were the norm.
The introduction of curfews and working hours regulations means that mechanics no longer have to endure the same gruelling schedules that were once standard in Formula One. According to Tost, this structured approach has significantly improved the work-life balance of the team’s staff.
Tost advocates more races: ‘We could have 26’.
As well as dismissing concerns about workload, Tost has long been an advocate of an expanded F1 calendar. While many in the sport believe that 24 races is the upper limit, he argues that F1 could accommodate even more.
“You have to have as many races as possible. It could be 26. There are 52 weeks in the year. One race every two weeks would make sense,” he suggested.
As F1 expands into new markets, particularly the United States, the Middle East and South East Asia, the demand for more races continues to grow. Cities and countries are eager to host their own Grand Prix and commercial interests are pushing Liberty Media, F1’s owner, to explore further calendar expansion.
The challenge, however, is whether an even longer calendar is logistically feasible. While Tost insists that more races are viable, many team principals and drivers have warned that the travel schedule is already stretching staff to the limit.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has previously stated that 24 races is probably the maximum sustainable number, but Tost believes that with proper scheduling a 26-race calendar could still work.
Work/life balance? Tost calls it ‘pointless’
At a time when work-life balance is an increasingly important issue in all industries, including sport, Tost has a strong and controversial opinion on the subject.
For him, working in Formula One is a privilege and those involved should be prepared for the high demands of the job.
“You are allowed to work in F1, it is a privilege. All this talk about work-life balance, all this nonsense, is completely pointless. It is for people who are too lazy to work,” Tost declared.
His view reinforces the traditional notion that working in F1 requires total commitment and a willingness to sacrifice personal time. According to Tost, this has always been the nature of the sport and those who sign up for it should not expect a typical 9 to 5 job.
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How long can the calendar keep expanding?
The ongoing debate about the expansion of the F1 calendar versus the workload of the staff remains unresolved. On the one hand, the commercial demand for more races is growing and Liberty Media is keen to capitalise on the sport’s growing global popularity. On the other hand, team bosses and drivers have expressed concerns about sustainability, warning that there are limits to the amount of staff that can be handled.
With strict curfews, reduced in-season testing and a more structured work schedule, Franz Tost argues that today’s workload is much lighter than it used to be. Whether his view is shared by those currently working in the sport is another matter.
As F1 looks ahead to future seasons, the question remains: will the sport continue to expand its calendar, or will it reach a breaking point where teams begin to resist the increasing demands?
For now, Tost is adamant that the mechanics are not being overworked, that the current complaints are exaggerated and that F1 could accommodate even more races. But with teams already feeling stretched, the battle over the sport’s growing calendar is far from over.
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Easy for him to say as he was always in a comparatively easier situation to mechanics (& engineers), but the reality is that everyone is right to complain because everything has a practical & logistical limit, not to mention teams can only rotate so much in any case rather than unlimitedly.
Domenicali has said repeatedly that the GP amount will remain stable at 24 for the long term, which he wouldn’t do over & over again if he didn’t mean it since he’d otherwise risk his position.
Therefore, contradicting him by anyone, especially third-party is pointless, & the general interest simply means that sacrifices are necessary in the long-term as not everything can fit all at once anyway.
The rotation scheme for some European locations is already one way of giving space for more lucrative non-European alternatives, with South Africa, Rwanda (although recent question marks have arisen), Thailand, & South Korea on the table as viable medium to long-term options.
Qiddiya is supposed to enter in 2028 & more likely as an addition to Jeddah rather than a replacement.
Everything will be considered to stay within the default limit, likely to remain unchanged all things considered.
All in all, 24 is more than perfect on all counts (what Domenicali also thinks), including overall income, as neither F1 as a series nor the teams are in a difficult financial situation.