Lando Norris becomes the latest driver to speak out against the increasingly hectic schedule of F1. He believes that increasing the load by adding more Sprint weekends will not be a “sustainable” approach in the long run.
Quoted by MotorsportWeek, the McLaren driver claimed that he preferred the old, original race format as that is what he grew up with. He added the main victims of such a packed schedule are the mechanics and the engineers in each team.
“The main point is just the toll it has on mechanics and engineers. I don’t think it’s too bad for us as drivers, honestly. I don’t think we can be the ones to complain at all. It’s the hundreds of mechanics and engineers that we have here that have to travel so much. It’s not healthy for them. It is not sustainable.”
Norris added that questions surrounding this hectic schedule shouldn’t be pointed toward drivers. Not being able to do enough for the staff is one of the biggest limiting factors of F1, per the Bristol-born driver.
While getting into cars every day is not an issue for drivers, the priority remains on making F1 easier for those working behind the scenes.
Additionally, having a hectic schedule gives teams fewer opportunities to perfect their cars. Results become redundant, and competition ceases to exist.
“I think that’s when you just start to see [a sequence of] team, team, team, team rather than a mix.“
Hence, Norris doesn’t believe that this new format bears much fruit. With his words, the McLaren driver joins Fernando Alonso and Max Verstappen in openly calling F1 out.
Lando Norris – the latest voice against Sprint weekends
Like Norris, Alonso, and Verstappen complained about F1’s schedule umpteenth number of times in the past. Alonso for one, joined F1 when the calendar had just 16 races. He saw it increase to 18, 20, then 22, and now 24.
Alonso feels that 20 was the limit, and when the 2024 season’s calendar was released, the two-time World Champion said,
“This is not sustainable for the future. I think for anyone.”
Max Verstappen meanwhile, feels that F1 has gone overboard with its number of races. He also guaranteed that if the sport continues with 24 races for the foreseeable future, he won’t be a part of the traveling circus for another 10 years.
F1 is changing, and Verstappen doesn’t enjoy it as much as he used to once. Still, the 26-year-old insisted that he is not against change. However, the changes brought about by the authorities have to benefit F1 for him to support them openly.
