F1
Horner: A calendar of 24 Grands Prix is “at the limit” of bearable
24 Grands Prix and not one more for Christian Horner © Xavi Bonilla / DPPI
The 2024 season of Formula 1 will beat, barring a turnaround or unforeseen event, a record: that of the greatest number of races organized as part of the World Championship. This year, 24 Grand Prix are on the program – not counting the 6 additional Sprint Races – two more than in 2023. The Chinese Grand Prix will return to the calendar after five years of absence, while the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, canceled last year due to floods which affected the region, is indeed present on the calendar.
According to Christian Horner, the calendar of 24 Grands Prix for the next season is " at the limit " of what the teams can handle. “It's been a brutal year, and I think it's something that will be on the agenda for Formula 1 and the FIA to discuss how we can make life more bearable for everyone involved », said the team’s senior director Red Bull from our colleagues at RaceFans.
“[F1] is a traveling circus, but it’s a global circus and we need to make sure we protect that circus and the people in it. Money is an important factor in any commercial sport, but it cannot come at the expense of people's health and well-being. I think we are at the limit. » Christian Horner's statements echo those of team boss James Vowles Williams, which had also set an acceptable limit of 24 Grands Prix per season.
More Grands Prix, more health risks
At the end of last season, many players in Formula 1 – drivers, managers, engineers – did not hide their fatigue at the end of a long and trying 2023 campaign, notably during the Qatar Grands Prix, contested under very hot weather, and the Las Vegas Grand Prix, organized late at night. Christian Horner himself had already warned about the impact of such a busy schedule at the end of the American round.
“There will be many lessons to be learned, confided the British leader in Nevada. I think one of the things we need to look at is the racing schedule because it's been brutal for the team and for all the men and women who work behind the scenes. Everyone leaves Vegas a little on the rocks, one way or another. It's been a brutal weekend for everyone behind the scenes and I think we need to think about how to improve things for the future. » As a reminder, the Concorde Agreements, signed by all the teams in 2020, allow F1 to organize up to 25 Grands Prix per year.
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Dorian Grangier
A young journalist nostalgic for the motorsport of yesteryear. Raised on the exploits of Sébastien Loeb and Fernando Alonso.
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dedeHJ37
07/01/2024 at 06:49 a.m.
when we know that it was the Frenchman Beau de Rochas who wrote the principle of the internal combustion engine we can believe that France had a lot to do with the development of the automobile and today there are no more GPs France ! someone explain to me what countries like Turkey, Qatar and others of the same kind have done to deserve their presence in this circus that F1 has become, what does the president of the FFSA think? it is true that today France no longer shines but if this president could do something other than polish his pumps that would be good!
07/01/2024 at 03:42 a.m.
To lighten the calendar a little, remove the 6 Sprint races! And add more distance travel... What will happen if countries were to return (Germany, South Africa, Turkey, Argentina, etc.) or arrive (Finland, Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand, etc.) .) ?