F1, 2021: the year of the three races in three consecutive weeks

The second half of the 2021 Formula 1 world championship highlighted one of the most intense organizational and logistical efforts ever made in the long history of the sport: in just three weeks, from the Mexican Grand Prix to the Qatar Grand Prix, teams and drivers took to the track for three consecutive weekends, held in two different continents, between Latin America and Asia. More than for the transfers between Mexico City and Sao Paulo – home of the Brazilian GP – the greatest commitment was highlighted between the same circuit of Interlagos and that of Doha, where the teams arrived in time to finish all their respective garage procedures before the start of the activities on the track for free practice.

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An overall activity that the Formula 1 Sporting Director himself, Steven Nielsen, wanted to retrace almost two months later, highlighting the great work and the risks associated with any unforeseen events: “The first time we did something like this was two or three years ago in Europe – he said in an interview reported by gpfans.com – but we recognized that it was something we would try to avoid in the future. Then, of course, Covid came, and we had to concentrate last year’s championship in a very short space of time. I think I’m right in saying that at the end of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, we would have done 39 races in 17 and a half months. This was only possible due to a greater number of double appointments, or the inclusion of various series of ‘triple-headers’, sometimes in the same place. This year, for the first time ever, we faced three different destinations in three consecutive weeks, with one last very long transfer between Brazil and Qatar. This has put everyone to the test to the absolute limit, with our partners DHL, the teams, Pirelli and Formula 1 in general doing a fantastic job. It was a success as it all worked out, the races were held regularly. It was a logistical challenge to the limit, and every issue would have had a domino effect for the teams involved, and we were fully aware of that. In any case – he concluded – we are very cautious about how we manage three races one after the other, because we know that it is not everyone’s first choice “. – Steven Nielsen concluded.