“Burnout because of too many races a concern,” GPDA Chief Alex Wurz questions the need for a record-long F1 calendar

“Burnout because of too many races a concern,” GPDA Chief Alex Wurz questions the need for a record-long F1 calendar

Formula 1 is an extremely energy-intensive sport, and the racers who regularly participate in the Grands Prix have claimed it, time and again, that they have to give their one hundred percent mental and physical efforts while speeding on the racetracks every other weekend. For every single race, the drivers need to prepare through strenuous workout sessions, and this obviously takes a toll on them. Thus, the ever-elongating F1 calendars that are coming out every year might be a reason for the racers’ burnout in the near future.

Alex Wurz, the Chief of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, raised a question regarding the need for too many races in a single year. As it is known, the FIA had declared a 23-race-long calendar for the upcoming 2023 season of Formula 1, making it the year with the longest race schedule in the history of the sport. But that plan did not turn out to be a success as the Chinese GP had to be cancelled amidst the still-prevalent Covid restrictions in the Asian country.

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The FIA confirmed that they would not be replacing the Chinese Grand Prix with any other race, and thus, it was fixed that the 2023 season will have 22 races in total. But even then, Alex Wurz is not happy with the ever-growing ambition of the FIA as they are only looking at the monetary aspect of things while deciding to add more races to the schedule. Wurz believes little or no break between the races can lead to a severe burnout amongst the F1 drivers, which will ultimately have an adverse effect on the sport as a whole.

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GPDA Chief Alex Wurz believes there should be proper breaks between the races for the drivers

Alex Wurz

As per the schedule that has been set by the FIA for the all-new F1 2023 season, if a person has to go to every race, they will be traveling a total of 80,000 miles in the air. This, of course, will be accompanied by severe jetlag and will ultimately affect the performance of the drivers on the Main Race day. Speaking on this, Wurz said, “Of course we have to ensure that the acting individuals are not burned out by too many races over the years, something the drivers are considering as a concers. As well as the concern that the audience accept more races.“

In other news, in the recent Red Bull RB-19 launch ahead of the new season, drivers Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo both agreed that they would want to race in the South African Grand Prix in the near future. The South African GP has been a topic of discussion amongst the F1 fans for quite a long time as Lewis Hamilton also supported the cause. As per the plans, a Formula 1 race in the Kyalami Circuit of Sandton is not too far away, and it might appear on the calendars in 2024.

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