Ralf Schumacher strongly criticizes the F1 calendar. According to the former German driver, having 24 events in 2024 will damage the image of the sport. A sporting bulimia, borrowing the words of Giorgio Terruzzi, that could have the opposite effect to the one hoped for: distancing media and fans from races, which now occupy far too many weekends.
The Formula 1 calendar planned for 2024 continues to raise concerns. The scheduled races will be 24, one more than the already (too) long 2023. The problems are numerous and concern different issues. On the one hand, it is necessary to take into account the physical and psychological stress on drivers and team members, and on the other hand, so many races could even tire the fans.
“24 races are simply too many,” said Ralf Schumacher to Sky Germany. “At the end of this season, problems arose in Las Vegas. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t been unwell or caught the flu. It was just too much. Formula 1 needs to understand that.”
“Stefano Domenicali [CEO of Formula 1, ed.] knows everything about the Circus; I hope he takes this problem seriously and tries to find a solution.”
But, as we were saying, doubts are not only related to the health of those involved. Even if the physical strain could be alleviated with crew rotations, it should be asked whether fans need so many races. An open and fought championship could be exciting for its entire duration, but in case of the uncontested dominance of a single entity, what would happen?
“Families will have to watch the sessions for hours every weekend, 24 times a year,” Ralf Schumacher continues. “They will waste their time like this.” – he believes.
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“It would be better to have fewer races and more tests, as we did in the past. This way, on free weekends, you can read a nice interview or an article in a Sunday newspaper about the heroes of Formula 1. The Formula 1 topic is now too saturated; newspapers stop talking about it,” the German concludes. “It has become too much. At some point, viewers will say they can’t watch the race because they have a family vacation or a wedding. You can’t watch Formula 1 all the time.”
Source: f1ingenerale
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