Fred Vasseur against general opinion: "F1 should not reduce number of GPs"

Fred Vasseur against general opinion: “F1 should not reduce number of GPs”. No concern for Fred Vasseur regarding the Formula 1 calendar.

The number of races in a year
The 2024 World Championship has not yet begun, and the first cars that will participate in a record-breaking season have not been presented. The element that has sparked the most discussion among teams and drivers, and has also raised some concerns among fans, is related to the number of scheduled races, which has never been so high in the history of this sport: 24. Already last year, a calendar with a rich schedule of GPs was set, reduced to 22 only due to the cancellation of the Emilia-Romagna GP (after the tragic flood last May) and the China GP (due to the COVID-19 emergency).

No concern for Fred Vasseur
Both reintroduced for 2024, complaints have not been lacking, especially from the teams, regarding the excessive fatigue of the travels that falls on the team members, already exhausted at the end of the last season. A delicate issue, but one that Frédéric Vasseur, Team Principal of Ferrari, addressed without excessive concerns.

How to manage the mechanics
The French engineer, in a recent meeting with the media, is convinced that teams can tackle the issue with internal solutions aimed at ensuring consistently high performance for the teams: “We must have the best approach for the mechanics because it is part of the performance and reliability,” he explained. “It is not strange that there were more errors in pit stops in Abu Dhabi compared to other races. I believe everyone was exhausted. It means that we have to think about rotating the mechanics or keeping some for the races and having another group at home to take care of the cars when they return to the factory. I believe there is a way to do something and manage the situation better.” – the French manager continued.

Against the reduction of GPs
Regarding the number of races, Fred Vasseur also emphasized how this aspect is a positive demonstration of the growing global interest in Formula 1, with countries increasingly willing to offer their candidacy to host a GP: “We must keep in mind that a couple of years ago, we had difficulty finding tracks and events,” he added. “Today we have many proposals that allow us to have 24 GPs and probably be a bit selective on events. We definitely need to work on the calendar because we will have the first part of the season in the Far East, with Melbourne, Japan, and China in succession, so we will allow some mechanics and drivers to stay in this part of the world at times. It will be useful. Then we will have to manage the team properly to give them some rest, but I don’t think we should reduce the number of events.” – the Ferrari team principal concluded.