Toto Wolff warns F1 facing "enormous burden" with triple-header barrage

Mercedes

Wolff warns F1 facing "enormous burden" with triple-header barrage

Mercedes boss has delivered a stark verdict on the run of races later this year

Ian Parkes

Tuesday 2 February 2021 18:01

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has warned that Formula 1 faces an "enormous burden" with its chaotic schedule over the second half of the season.

Despite criticism from many of last season's run of triple-headers, they were ultimately deemed necessary in order for F1 to squeeze in a schedule of 17 races in 24 weekends in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This season, however, the sport faces a run of three triple-headers after the summer break that precedes the recently rearranged Australian Grand Prix before concluding with a double-header in the Middle East.

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Recognising the challenge, Wolff told Austria's ORF: "It will certainly be incredibly difficult for the race team.

"We will have three triple-headers in a row. You won't come home for four weeks. That is, of course, an enormous burden."

With Australia rescheduled and the Chinese GP postponed and highly unlikely to take place this year given the density of the schedule, Wolff would not be surprised if other races fell by the wayside, as was the case last year.

"This fear is, of course, justified," added Wolff. "Australia has been postponed, but the grand prix is so important that they didn't want to cancel it entirely. It will follow at the end of the year.

"And China has a general ban for major events until August. These are two factors that cannot be influenced. That's why we start in Bahrain."

While there may be a degree of uncertainty over the first half of what is currently a record-breaking 23-race calendar, Wolff is at least expecting the Covid-19 situation to ease after the summer break.

"I assume we will have a reasonably normal season again after the summer," said the Austrian.