McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh warns against congestion of Grands Prix – Formula 1 news
McLaren team principal Martin Whitmarsh has said that the current Formula 1 calendar is at its ‘tipping point.’
There are 20 races scheduled for the 2012 season. It is the same number that was planned for the ongoing 2011 season but the Bahrain Grand Prix was called off due to the civil instability in the country.
Whitmarsh believes that with 20 races in a calendar year, the current staff’s workload for the year is already being stretched to the limit.
The season for 2013 and 2014 will see four new events, which will include New Jersey and Russia resulting in an increase in the number of races beyond the current 20. The McLaren team principal foreseeing the situation has analysed that it will require the
teams to hire more employees to tackle the already heavy workload.
Whitmarsh further explained that teams give their engineers and staff two weeks off during each season which is essential for them to recuperate from the workload they suffer during the season and come back refreshed for the next. However, he said if more
races are added to the season, they might not be able to give that essential time off to their employees. They might even have to hire replacement engineers, he said.
“We must have a break during the winter and we must have one mid-season because it is very hard,” Whitmarsh said. “By the time the guys get back and strip down [the cars] after Brazil [at the end of the season] it will be December and by January the same
guys will be building the new car, by February they are going to be testing the car and then they're into a flog around the world.”
“It's an incredibly difficult and challenging job for the mechanics, the technicians and the engineers. Fortunately we've got a great team here and they enjoy the challenge,” he said.
The issue raised by Whitmarsh is a valid one, although there is still some ambiguity to the next year’s scheduling for the races as it is not sure whether Bahrain which was dropped this year for civil unrest will be included next year or not. In addition,
Korea has not been able to profit from the Grands Prix it has hosted since its inauguration in 2009.
It remains to be seen though if more than 20 races are scheduled or some locations are dropped for newer ones.
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