Formula 1 Chief Proposes to Shorten Race Weekends to Two Days.

Proposal by the Head of Williams

According to The Sun: The head of the Formula 1 team calls for significant changes in the calendar, leading to innovations in race weekends.

James Vowles, the chief coach of Williams, expressed an idea that he believes will be supported by fans.

Getty

Recently, the load on drivers has been actively discussed, as the season calendar consists of 24 races and six sprints.

Lando Norris and Max Verstappen have previously spoken out against increasing the number of races, believing it puts pressure on the drivers.

Vowles disagrees with the opinion that there are too many races and suggests reducing the load by shortening the duration of weekends from three days to two.

This approach will increase the number of race views and significantly shorten practice time.

“I don’t think we have too many races, but I wouldn’t want to exceed the current numbers, since we are asking people to wrongly occupy half a year’s time,”

said Vowles.

“Half of your weekends are spent watching Formula 1. I think this is on the edge of what is possible.”

Vowles emphasized that switching to two weekends instead of three could save overall time while enhancing the quality of the races.

“I believe you will get more variability and randomness from this,”

he added.

The number of Grands Prix has increased from 22 to 24 at the beginning of the 2024 season. The intensification of competitions occurred after the introduction of 20-race seasons in 2012.

Vowles' proposal may be supported by the drivers. Max Verstappen has already expressed concerns about the load on mechanics, which would decrease with reduced practice.

“The sprint format was better, in my opinion,”

he said.

Lando Norris also supports this view, noting that the load on mechanics and engineers is large and can negatively impact their health.

“Basically, it’s not very hard for us, drivers. It’s dozens of mechanics and engineers traveling, and that’s not healthy for them,”

Norris notes.

In modern Formula 1, the topics of team workload and competition efficiency are becoming increasingly relevant. James Vowles' proposals may open up new opportunities to preserve the health of drivers and personnel, as well as maintain viewer interest. If implemented, changes in race organization strategy can be expected in the future.