With Thursday off, Formula One drivers save 23 days on 23 race weekends, calculates Pierre Gasly – He also hopes to ease the burden on teams
When Formula One kicks off its new season next week, a new schedule will take effect for the first time, designed to shorten race weekends for teams and drivers. The media day on Thursday will no longer exist. It will be integrated into Friday. The free practice sessions will start later.
Qualifying will also take place later. Only the races will start as usual at 3 p.m.
“We have 23 races now, which is a lot compared to before. And if we can arrive a day later, we have 23 more days to train and recover between races. So that has a pretty big impact,” he says, explaining the benefits of the new schedule for the riders.
Gasly: Potentially better for teams too
While the Frenchman admits that it will “probably be more intense” from Friday to Sunday, he says: “We’ll just have more time between races to recover from it all.” In future, he himself will only arrive at the respective venue on Thursday evening – instead of sometimes on Wednesday evening as in the past.
Gasly also believes the new schedule is potentially better for the teams too. “I hope they find a way that all the mechanics and all the people who work for the teams can also arrive a day later,” said the 26-year-old.
“I’m not sure if that will be the case at the beginning. But 23 races are very exhausting and people don’t get to see their family, their children and their wives. You can’t have a private life. And at the end of the day, that’s also a very important part,” he says, addressing the biggest problem of the busy calendar.
“Many people have already left the sport “
“Of course you want as much entertainment as possible, but you also want people to be happy and enjoy what they are doing, because I think we are doing a great sport. All these people love it,” the AlphaTauri pilot points out.
“But all the travelling and the time they don’t get to spend with their family is already something that becomes quite critical. And it’s good that Formula One is aware of that and trying to find a compromise to take care of people as well, so that not everyone leaves the sport.”
“There have been a few people who have wanted to leave the sport because it has become too intense,” Gasly knows. “I hope they find a solution and they give them more time. “