Formula 1 plans to have 24 races in a season, which is a lot! But even with just 22 races this year, the people who work in F1 are getting really tired from all the traveling.
George Russell, who is a part of F1, wants to make a rule that says the staff can’t work at all 24 races in a season. He thinks it’s just too much for them.
In 2023, F1 was supposed to have 24 races, but two of them got canceled. F1 bosses still want to add more races to the calendar, so they have been making the teams travel a lot.
One of the problems with all this traveling is the different time zones. For example, there were back-to-back races in the United States, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo.
That means the teams had to quickly go from one place to another, and the time difference messed up their sleep schedules. It’s like their bodies didn’t know what time it was!
Another tricky situation happened with the races in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi. Las Vegas is not a great place for people in Europe to watch the races on TV because of the time difference.
So, the teams had to travel to Las Vegas and then quickly go to Abu Dhabi. That’s a 12-hour time difference! It must have been really hard for everyone involved.
$The way we travel, we’re in a very fortunate position, but everybody up and down the paddock – I’ve got so many mechanics who are ill, people in the engineers’ office, just really struggling with the constant time zone shifts,” Russell said.
“The body not knowing where you are, eating at different times, staying in different hotels, different environments, different climates.” he added.
Russell thinks it’s time to make a change. He wants to introduce a rule that says the staff, except for the drivers, can’t go to every single race.
He believes it’s not fair to expect 4,000 people to work at all 24 races in a season. Plus, he thinks it doesn’t make much sense geographically. It’s a lot of traveling for everyone.
Russell knows that the drivers have it pretty good compared to everyone else. They get to travel in a more comfortable way. But he sees how hard it is for the mechanics, engineers, and other staff members.
They struggle with the constant time zone changes, different environments, and even different climates. It’s tough on their bodies.
The Mercedes driver believes that if they make this rule, it will be a good thing for everyone. It will help the staff members have a better work-life balance and take care of their health. Russell also thinks it will make more sense for F1 as a sport.
