Formula 1 ‘s 24-race calendar for 2023 might be a sign of the current good health of the category, but for many, it was cause for concern.
For those working in the paddock, the announcement of F1’s 2023 calendar was the first sign of how many weekends they will be away from home next year. People even joked about the booming business of divorce solicitors in Oxfordshire , where most of the F1 teams are based, and everyone cringed at the sheer amount of time they were going to be spending on flights during the next season.
The number of races is not the most surprising thing on the calendar. We knew it was going to be this way, given the plans to add Qatar and Las Vegas, bring back China and keep Spa and Monaco. The limit of 24 races established by the Pact of Concord was going to be met.
It is the distribution of races that is most frustrating for those who work in F1. Match Baku with Miami and have Montreal a month later; put Qatar away from the other Middle East races on the calendar; having Austin just a month before Las Vegas , they will form a double with Abu Dhabi to close out the season. At first glance, some things don’t make much sense, especially after F1 has declared its intention to try to regroup races geographically where possible.
And all that without taking into account the triplets. Remember when we saw the first one, back in 2018, and the teams said they didn’t want to do it again? And do you remember that his return in 2020 was simply out of necessity due to COVID-19 ? Well, next year we will have two hat-tricks again: Emilia Romagna/Monaco/Spain , and United States/Mexico/Brazil . And the five races that will take place in six weeks to complete the season may be exciting for the fans, but they will push the teams’ personnel to the limit.
The reasons for the formation of the 2023 F1 calendar
The 2023 calendar has not been easy for F1. Part of the early season schedule hinged on South Africa, which will now have to wait until 2024 at the earliest to have a race again, and its absence will have a knock-on effect on other countries. China has also moved as F1 weighed plans with or without South Africa, and the space it now (mid-April) occupies means it needs to be confirmed whether it will be feasible to return to Shanghai sooner rather than later.
Putting a week between Bahrain and Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the year may seem strange given their proximity, but it makes some sense. With testing taking place in Bahrain a week before the season opener, merging the first two races would have effectively created another hat-trick. The difference at least gives the teams and staff a chance to go home after the inaugural Bahrain GP.
Australia’s date is something that has been criticized this year, but it could only join China, which obviously needs a larger space of time due to possible entry restrictions, or Qatar, which is later in that group of Asian races along with Singapore and Japan . However, the prospect of 48 hours of travel in a week to and from Melbourne remains something that bothers the paddock.
Keeping Spa on the calendar was another scheduling challenge. It was not going to be able to recover its traditional place, since the end of the year events were fixed and there would only be room for two European Grands Prix after the summer break: Zandvoort and Monza. Meter Spa in July forced Imola to be displaced, forming the treble with Monaco and Spain , which also had an impact on the Baku date.
What happened to the plans for geographical grouping of F1 races?
This was one of the biggest criticisms leveled at F1 when the calendar was released. For a category that aims to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, the amount of air travel involved – 133,570km to get from race to race not counting home visits – seems like a huge step backwards.
In May, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali told team bosses the plan was to group races by region from 2023 as part of his commitment to sustainability. While there are a few loose groupings – Singapore/Japan/Qatar , US/Mexico/Brazil/ Las Vegas – it’s nothing like the kind of schedule many would have expected in that regard.
F1 went to great lengths to try to group the races together better. But for many grands prix, as they already had the contracts in place and the dates set, changing their place on the schedule was simply not feasible. In some cases, the pressure to try to get a change of date reached even the highest levels of government, but ended up being rejected anyway. Promoters have to take into account the time of year, the weather conditions and any possible impact on the fan experience, which is, in the end, how they get the revenue to cover the fee to be on the schedule. And that is not a task that is done in a moment.
Switching to a more tightly packed calendar is one area F1 will work on in the future, but it will be difficult. You will have to weigh the challenge of changing the dates and keeping promoters happy with your commitment to sustainability. For the good of the planet, there can only be one winner, but it will take time to get the calendar lined up right.
The human cost of the 2023 F1 calendar
The cost of the increase in races on the F1 2023 calendar for those who work in the paddock is increasingly present for the teams. Staff turnover is something that most consider not only desirable, but necessary, to keep their staff members fresh and avoid burning them out. Last year, Mercedes director Toto Wolff told Motorsport.com that he even thought it should be added as mandatory in the rules to take into account the pressures of the calendar, especially when it comes to taking care of mental health.
But it is not something that all team members can afford. In some cases, the function is so specialized or so critical that only one person can do it. Let’s think about the race engineers: it’s rare to hear a different voice on the other end of the radio to talk to the drivers. Although the teams have protocols so that other members can intervene in case of need, the importance of the relationship with the pilots makes rotation in that position not feasible. It is a challenge that teams must face to ensure that the best talent stays and can enjoy a good run in F1 without being cut short by exhaustion.
Another fear for many in F1 is that the calendar will continue to grow and exceed 24 races. Domenicali suggested last year that up to 30 races were in demand, but F1 made it clear that was not the plan. The Pact of Concord sets the limit at 24, and it must be kept. This is not only to ensure that there is no oversaturation of events that affects those who work at the races, but also for the interest of fans who watch from home.
As attractive as the extra income from a greater number of races is to the teams through the prize money they receive, and to the growth of F1 as a whole, it must not be forgotten, and must always be borne in mind, the counterpart of next year’s deadline calendar.
Do you want to read our news before anyone else and for free? Follow us and sign up for The Debrief newsletter and you won’t miss a thing. All the information, at your fingertips!
