There are 23 confirmed races for the next season, breaking the Formula 1 record of the past two years. However, criticism arose about the most expensive calendar ever. In addition to the high amount, the environment and human rights of the countries where the races take place and the workload of the staff within the royal class have not been taken into account.

Sauber’s sports director, Beat Zehnder, mentioned first of all, among other things, that the nightly costs of Formula 1 employees are too high. Let’s take England as an example. We pay 25 percent more from year to year,” the Swiss begins the opposite Cars and sports. “It’s getting tough everywhere. Austin is already fully booked for 2023. We’ve tried to book ten more rooms at our hotel. Not a chance. Everything is already full.”

Zinder: “The calendar couldn’t be more expensive”

Next season, great distances will be covered by the plane. For example, there will be a race in Spain at the beginning of June, followed by a race in Canada a few weeks later and then another race in Europe at the beginning of July, which is Austria. Zinder mentions that a large number of trips can become a problem. “For example, we have problems getting people back from Melbourne. Even before we know the date, all flights for the day after the race are fully booked. And if there are still vacant places, you often have to pay double, ”continues the year-old. 56 years old.

Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula 1, also promised before announcing the calendar that the distances between the various Grand Prix races would be taken into account. For example, many races will take place first in Europe, then in Asia, and so on. However, this did not happen in the end. “The calendar could not have been put together at a much greater cost,” Zehnder says critically.

And he maintains that Formula 1 has done everything it can to not think along with the teams. In particular, long-distance flights from Europe to America, for example, are very expensive. This is by far the most expensive cargo flight of the year. “We pay close to a million in shipping costs alone,” Zinder says. So the teams are frustrated that they were not allowed to help decide the calendar and that only the money of the sport itself was considered.

Stevenson: He’s very tired

Zehnder certainly calls that out Triple heads It will be especially tough the last, with races in the United States, Mexico and Brazil. And fatigue is not the only thing, because it is also a logistics problem. “We already saw that in 2021, when fog in Mexico disrupted the tight schedule,” explains the sporting director. “There’s always a risk. On top of that, Mexico is so high you can’t fully pack the planes. It’s a logistical challenge.”

A lot has changed in recent years, which means that Triple Header will also become a problem in Europe. “We used to travel from Barcelona to Monaco in one week, but the flight from Imola was much longer,” says Zinder. In addition, Monaco’s setup and breakdown is always accompanied by European chaosriple headers I guess that’s why I think they are worse than the ones in America. This really worries me.

Andy Stephenson, team principal at Aston Martin, is also looking at the new calendar without much pleasure. So he joins the Swiss. “It’s very tiring for our mechanics,” he explains. “When it comes to the third race in a row, you can’t expect the same performance as the first. At the end of the season, everyone will be on their toes,” Stephenson concludes.