Guenther Steiner wishes for "stable" calendar after year of "ducking and diving"

Haas

Steiner wishes for "stable" calendar after year of "ducking and diving"

F1 is expected to reveal a completed calendar for 2022 on October 15

Ewan Gale

Wednesday 6 October 2021 16:10

Haas team principal Guenther Steiner has revealed his wish for 2022 is that the F1 calendar will remain "stable" in order for plans to be put in place.

The past two seasons have seen the scheduling change on numerous occasions as the ongoing covid pandemic forces cancellations and postponements at various events worldwide.

The proposed calendar for 2022 included 23 races in a more compact calendar featuring triple-headers - a scheduling quirk maligned by teams in the past two seasons due to the strain experienced by staff.

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“My first wish is that the pandemic goes away, not only for Formula 1 but the world," said Steiner.

"That people are not dying or getting sick from Covid anymore and that we can all return to a normal life.

"The second is for Formula 1, and that we can have a stable calendar. If we have a stable calendar, even if there are some events back-to-back or triple-headers, if you know exactly what is coming you can plan a lot better than always having this uncertainty.

"FOM did a great job to get us through another pandemic year with a lot of events for the fans and hopefully the pandemic will go, and we can go back to normality but otherwise I’m sure they’ll find solutions and we have to keep on going for another year, ducking and diving from the pandemic.

"I really look forward myself to the calendar and look forward to next year anyway.”

F1 triple-headers "part of our job"

A triple-header threatens the workforce involved during race weekends with a month away from families with concerns then arising over mental health of staff in the paddock.

Whilst Steiner has previously recognised the inconveniences of a triple-header, he suggested such scheduling falls within the parameters of everyone's job in order to complete a season.

"I spoke with Stefano [Domenicali, F1 CEO] about it and it could be that they have to introduce a few triple-headers, a few but not many, to make sure that the calendar fits in what we want to do," explained Steiner.

"In the end, if you like it or not it is a part of our job and we cannot always decide.

"People which work in the entertainment industry, like concert industries, these guys have a continuous triple-header.

"They never go home when a tour starts, it is a six-month tour. I don't know how many there are next year, I haven't seen a provisional calendar.

"I am guessing there will maybe be a few and we just need to deal with it the best we can because it is a part of our business now."