Andreas Seidl wants to avoid the risk of exhaustion in F1

On October 15th, the F1 will publish its 2022 calendar after the next meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council. No less than 23 races seem to be scheduled, in a shorter time frame than this season. This suggests that triple-headers (races that follow on three consecutive weekends) will be more numerous in order to, perhaps, reduce the workload as much as possible.

Stefano Domenicali, the CEO of F1, spoke on the subject on Sky F1. The idea is to ensure a good pace to the calendar, we need to ensure that the logistical flow is correct. But I can tell you with some confidence that next season will start in mid-March and end in mid-November.

In the history of F1, the calendar has never stopped lengthening. There were only seven Grand Prix races in 1950 (the year of the championship’s birth), 16 races in the 1980s, 19 in 2010, and around twenty today. Additionally, F1 is no longer primarily contested in Europe. The sport has opened up to the world, with an increasing number of races taking place in Asia, America, or the Middle East. Race weekends are increasingly happening all around the world, leading to the creation of the famous triple-headers (particularly since the health crisis).

Despite the promise of a good rhythm, the increase in the number of races is not necessarily well-received within the paddock. Andreas Seidl clearly opposes this calendar but does not want to speak too quickly. “I don’t want to talk about the calendar until it’s finished. Our position as a team is clear, the ideal is to have a 20-race calendar with 15 fixed Grand Prix races and five others that could change each year to explore new countries, for example. It’s important that this calendar be designed in a stable and sustainable manner for all F1 personnel, but also in an environmentally friendly way. I think Stefano is looking at all this and will find the right balance. It’s important that we have a good dialogue with F1,” he concluded.