Speaking to the media ahead of the British Grand Prix, Max Verstappen voiced his concerns regarding the overwhelming number of races in the newly announced 2024 calendar.
Formula 1 has unveiled an ambitious schedule for the upcoming season, featuring an unprecedented 24 races spanning a duration of 10 months.
Originally, the initial plan for the 2023 campaign consisted of 24 races. However, due to the cancellation of the Chinese and Emilia-Romagna Grands Prix, the final count was reduced to 22 races, offering some relief from the previously anticipated load.
At just 25 years old, the Dutch driver, who has an impressive track record of participating in 172 races, asserts that the 2024 calendar poses an excessive demand on drivers.
Verstappen, with his wealth of experience in the racing world, raises valid concerns about the intensity of the upcoming season’s schedule. Despite his young age, he emphasizes that the number of races scheduled for 2024 is overwhelming and could potentially impact the physical and mental well-being of the drivers.
“It’s too many for me at least, we just have to deal with it,” he said in an interview with the Media.
“I think it’s a bit more logical the way it’s planned at least so I guess that’s better for everyone.”
Echoing the sentiment, McLaren driver, Lando Norris shared a similar viewpoint, expressing that his ideal number of races for a year would be around 20.
Norris concurs with the notion that a slightly reduced schedule of 20 races would strike the perfect balance, allowing drivers and teams to maintain their competitive edge while also providing them with ample time for rest, recovery, and preparation between each exhilarating event.
“Five, six, 24 is a lot. If I picked the perfect number, it’s probably closer to 20,” said Lando Norris in a lighthearted response to PlanetF1.com’s inquiry about his preferred number of races in a year.
“But there are too many tracks that people want to go to. It’s also [tough] for the lives of mechanics, engineers, everyone who travels. They’re away from families, kids and so on for so many days.
“It’s tougher for them [than for drivers] so I think when we talk about this, we speak more as voices for those than for ourselves.”
Presenting a fresh perspective, the 23-year-old driver put forth an intriguing suggestion: a calendar consisting of 20 races per year, with the inclusion of rotating venues.
“I think 20 but with rotating tracks. Sometimes you want to go to certain places in different years. You just can’t go to all the tracks that people want to go to, it’s as simple as that.
“So it’s nice to see they’ve put some effort into organising in a slightly better way but still, it’s tough.”
