F1 demand "perspective" in dealing with exhausting triple-headers

Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has suggested those coming to terms with yet more triple-headers this season must balance perspective with the countless job losses around the world.

F1 is aiming to complete a record-breaking 23-race calendar this season after running a curtailed 17-grands prix schedule last season in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Despite widespread criticism of triple-header weekends last year, there are another three this year, all consecutive and with the races spanning continents rather than neighbouring countries.

Nine of the 10 teams, however, - with the exception of McLaren - voted for the calendar as it stands.

With concerns over the mental and physical health of team personnel considering the scheduling, Domenicali insisted the current situation meant the triple-headers could not be avoided.

“I think this year, it is something that we will have to manage," he said.

"But we have to remember that people have lost their jobs, there are people that are suffering a lot, so I think that it is better to put that into perspective.

"I know it is difficult for all the families of all the people who stay out and work hard, but on the other hand, we have to respect all the people who don’t have this opportunity.

"In the short-term, it was the only way to try to keep the Covid effect as minimal as possible because if we had have done more races at the beginning, then the risk would have been higher.

"Therefore, that is the reason that we moved the second part of the season to this situation."

With vaccinations now being rolled out, hope remains that normality will be regained in the not-too-distant future.

That said, Domenicali revealed the sport will aim to reduce the possibility of running triple-headers as much as it can due to the issues caused by the scheduling.

"We need to be more balanced," he explained. "I think next year when the situation should be more stable, I expect that we are going to avoid the triple-headers as much as possible because I understand the difficulty.

"Also, don't forget the logistic implications that we will have. But I will say, this year is a fact that we need to digest and for the benefit of the whole business, it was the only way to progress with the objective we had to achieve the season we had discussed with the teams last year.”

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