“The drivers have got to stop whinging,” Australian GP CEO warns drivers to stop crying over racing in far-away locations

“The drivers have got to stop whinging,” Australian GP CEO warns drivers to stop crying over racing in far-away locations

George Russell, Sergio Perez

The weekend in Australia has come to an end with another win for Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. The Australian GP had been the season opener in the past but now takes place in the opening stages of the year, as the Australian GP CEO, Andrew Westacott, believes, “The time for Formula One in Australia is early in the season.”

Going into the race, Mercedes George Russell and Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, both of whom were on the podium, complained of the scheduling of the Australian GP as a standalone race, that too in a faraway country. Both the drivers didn’t appear to be too happy.

Andrew Westacott, in an interview with Reuters, responded to the drivers’ comments. He said, “The drivers have got to stop whinging in some respects,” and that the drivers “better get used to” traveling to distant locations.

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What were the comments before the Australian GP?

Australian GP Podium
Australian GP Podium

George Russell approves of the Australian GP as the season opener but doesn’t like the idea of it being squeezed between the other races. As quoted by GP Fans, he said, “Having Melbourne in between races, especially as a standalone, is too tough for the teams and everybody. It needs to be thought about more. There’s no reason why we couldn’t do a back to back with one of the Middle Eastern races.”

He concluded by saying, “It feels like another double-header for the teams with the amount of time they spend in this part of the world, and as the season is getting longer and longer, we need to find a better balance.”

On the other hand, Sergio Perez said, “It [the schedule] works well at the moment because we do the winter testing in Bahrain, and it makes sense to stay there. But it really has to be a back to back with one of those [Middle Eastern] races because coming to Australia for a single race is quite painful for everyone.”

Australia is hours ahead of the country in Europe and middle-east. It poses an adaptation challenge for the drivers more than in any other country in the world.

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