Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur doesn’t think that Formula 1, with 24 races, runs too many Grands Prix a year, but still believes that measures are necessary in order not to overload the staff. The Frenchman admits that the end of the 2023 season has sapped his strength.
“It’s not unusual that there have been more pit stop errors in Abu Dhabi than anywhere else,” he says. “Everyone was exhausted.” That’s why Vasseur looks for the best approach for its mechanics, “because it’s part of performance and part of reliability.”
At Ferrari they are thinking about how to get the mechanics as best as possible over the season, which will include two more races in 2024 and will therefore be the longest ever.
Vasseur sees a rotation principle as one possibility, in which the individual mechanics no longer do all the races. Another variant involves separating groups: one group does all the races on site, while another group of mechanics takes care of the cars when they arrive back at the factory.
“But I think we have scope to do something,” emphasizes Vasseur. “We have scope to manage it a little better.”
The Ferrari team boss continues to see the issue of the extensive calendar positively, even if he emphasizes that he doesn’t want to “become the new Franz Tost”, for whom there can’t actually be enough races.
“We have to remember that a few years ago we had problems finding routes and events. Today we have a lot of offers, so we can do 24 events and also be a little selective about the events,” he says.
The situation has also improved in some areas, such as the grouping of some races. Vasseur highlights the start of the season, where they stay in the Far East three times in a row with Australia, Japan and China. “It allows mechanics and drivers to stay on the same page in the world, which is helpful,” he says.
Nevertheless, you still have to work on adjusting the calendar, and the team has to do its part internally. “We have to manage the team so that they get some rest,” said Vasseur. “But I don’t think we need to reduce the number of races.”