Christian Horner calls for calendar balance amid "thirst and demand" for F1

Red Bull

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Horner calls for calendar balance amid "thirst and demand" for F1

Horner suggested there would be 35 races if the promoter "got his way"

Ewan Gale

Thursday 7 October 2021 08:00

Red Bull team principal Christian Horner has called for F1 to try to "measure the balance" of next season's calendar amidst the "thirst and demand" for the sport.

A provisional calendar for 2022 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.

Concerns have arisen over the return of triple-headers which could affect staff welfare and Horner insisted balance must be found.

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"It’s a gruelling calendar. It’s like in any sport, the thirst and demand for Formula 1 is what it is and it is always trying to measure that balance," said Horner.

"I’m sure we could have 35 races if the promoter got his way. It’s finding that balance between not needing to have, effectively, two crews, that you can do it manageably with one crew to do an entire season.

"It’s gruelling, it’s demanding and particularly through these Covid times, with the calendar changing and triple-headers coming in and you look at the logistics of part of the tour later on with Brazil, Mexico and then to the Middle East.

"It’s tough. It really is tough."

Horner - The way teams have dealt with past two years "phenomenal"

With Covid affecting the calendar since the start of 2020, it has been widely accepted that shifting schedules and triple-headers were part and parcel of ensuring the sport could complete championships.

Horner praised those working within the sport, adding: "I think the way all of the teams have dealt with that has been phenomenal and we are certainly not getting people saying ‘I don’t want to be at a race’.

"It’s balancing that. If you look back 15 years or even 20 years and you look at the amount of testing that used to take place in between the events and the amount of time that engineers, technicians, drivers would be sitting in a grand prix car between events, it’s significantly different now.

"But it’s always a matter of getting that ratio right and geographically getting that calendar with balance in it."