Toto Wolff labels F1 calendar change "shame" for Romain Grosjean outing

Mercedes

Wolff labels F1 calendar change "shame" for Grosjean outing

Grosjean will still test with the team but will be unable to run at the French Grand Prix

Ian Parkes & Ewan Gale

Monday 31 May 2021 05:04

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Toto Wolff has revealed his disappointment at Romain Grosjean missing out on the chance to test for Mercedes in front of his home crowd.

The French Grand Prix has been moved forward by a week in order to accommodate a second race at the Red Bull Ring in Austria following the cancellation of both the Canadian and then the Turkish event.

Mercedes was set to give Grosjean the chance to perform demonstration laps during the grand prix weekend at Paul Ricard before completing a test in the days following.

But the demo run will not now happen due to a clash with the Frenchman's IndyCar commitments.

Commenting on the calendar changes, Wolff said: "It’s a shame for the French Grand Prix because we had a nice programme planned with Romain and the car and some laps for the fans on the weekend and we can’t do that now.

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"He’s still going to get a proper test thereafter. And with Austria, obviously, for all the teams there is no better place to be – 10 days in Austria, in the mountains. It’s the right back-to-back."

F1 switch to Austria "great" for teams

The late change to the schedule could have been a logistical challenge had it not been for the fact the races were based in Europe.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto praised F1 for its handling of the situation and for providing teams with fair warning of the planned updates.

"Luckily enough we were made aware that Turkey would probably be cancelled in time not to send or ship any material there, so in terms of logistics, we didn’t incur those costs at the time," said Binotto.

"What we are adding is another European race which, in terms of logistics, is certainly the easiest, and double races in Austria, in terms of logistics, is pretty easy.

"The way the calendar has been shuffled is helping the current logistics and the costs as well, so overall, it’s great and fine."