George Russell agrees with Esteban Ocon about the strain on F1 drivers, team members and everyone involved due to a busy schedule.
F1’s last two weekends and the trip from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi have made things difficult for the entire paddock, especially after traveling through Asia and America for the past two months. After 23 rounds and a tough back-to-back finishes, the price was heavy.
The unusual situation in Las Vegas and the trip to Abu Dhabi combined to create difficulties. Mercedes’ Russell had a cough on Sunday and knew he wasn’t feeling well. For him, the burden on team members was even greater because they didn’t have the freedom that physical therapists had.
While talking about 2024, Russell discussed the possibility of regulations requiring employees not to complete all 24 rounds to improve employee management. “Riders, I think we all have the best in each and every one of us in this paddock and how we travel,” said the GPDA director. “We are in a very fortunate position.
“But to all of you in the paddock, there are a lot of sick mechanics and people in the engineering office are really struggling with the constant time zone changes. Your body doesn’t know where it is. , is eroding. “Different times, staying in different hotels, different environments, different climates. My body gets confused.
“I think there will be discussion about staffing up so they can’t attend every race for next year.” I think that’s a good thing. “I don’t think 24 races a season with 4,000 people is sustainable, especially when you consider it still doesn’t make much sense geographically,” Russell concluded.
The Briton somewhat agreed with Alpine’s Ocon, who fell ill between Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi. He missed Thursday’s media day and drove all weekend feeling unwell, but felt much better Sunday.
But he also feels the price is getting higher and higher. “Of course, lying in bed for two days before an F1 race is not ideal,” Ocon said. “But considering all of that, I still think we did a good job. On race day he was probably 98%, on Saturday he was 85%, so that’s when things got better. You’re on the right track.
“The biggest challenge was the test where I sat in the car all day. It was a pretty tough test, so I’m glad I felt better before the test. I don’t know if (due to the timing of Las Vegas) , I couldn’t see the sun for 4 days. There are many things that put a strain on the human body.
“That usually happens when I get home from here and feel sick. That’s one or two more races than last year. That’s what the body is designed for, not for 24 or 23 races. No. Let’s see if we can escape from this next year. It’s never 100%, but it doesn’t matter because we have to make the best of the situation.”
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