McLaren backs Mercedes on "man of the people" Stefano Domenicali over calendar plans

Formula 1

McLaren backs Mercedes on "man of the people" Domenicali over calendar plans

A 23-race calendar has been aired with final confirmation set for October 15

Ewan Gale

Wednesday 6 October 2021 18:09

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McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl has backed Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff's suggestion that Stefano Domenicali is the right man to ensure staff welfare is considered when expanding the calendar.

The provisional 2022 calendar includes triple-headers once more in a 23-race schedule that will be condensed by an earlier finishing date.

A draft calendar has been aired, with Bahrain and Abu Dhabi starting and closing the season, which is set to be ratified at a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council on October 15.

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With triple-headers again a concern with staff facing up to a month without returning home, Seidl echoed Wolff's suggestion of a staff-rotation scheme.

"The idea that Toto mentioned I think we have brought up two years ago but unfortunately there was no enough support from the teams," explained Seidl.

"So hopefully with the calendar, we have in place now there is a chance to discuss again the topic because that’s something we could also definitely support from our side.

"In terms of race calendar, I think from our side, Zak and myself have made clear what we think should happen moving forward."

Domenicali a "man of the people"

With Domenicali taking over from Chase Carey as F1 CEO at the start of this year, the sport is now spearheaded by a man who has worked in the high-pressure environment in the paddock as a team principal.

"Regarding let’s say having the right balance between the commercial interests that we all have and regarding the workload we can put on our people we think a calendar moving forward which is focusing more on exclusivity and quality, with around 20 races per year, and maybe have some races in there that rotate from year to year, so in order to be also available for new markets and so on would be the right balance," Seidl added.

"But, as Toto just said, I think with Stefano we have the right man in charge to work out the right balance there.

"I know personally also Stefano as a man of the people as well, from the past when I was dealing with him. He is in charge of a lot of people as well, so I hope he considers that as well and I am confident that we will find the right balance in the future."