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2021 weekend format changes to be 'subtle' - Ross Brawn

Published on 03 Apr 2019 16:32
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By: Harry Mattocks

Ross Brawn, the director of motorsports for Formula 1, has said that there will be no 'revolution' to the current race weekend format.

However, there will be some 'subtle' changes made so that there is less stress put onto the teams.

Liberty Media has said in the past how they plan to increase the number of races on the calendar to 24, from the current 21.

This has caused problems with the teams, as they say they are going to have to employ secondary race crews so that employees aren't forced to spend too much time away from their families.

To combat this, there were suggestions put forward to reduce the number of practice sessions at a race weekend, by removing practice one and practice two, with only a single session on a Saturday morning.

This proposal then caused problems with the race circuits and the fans, who want to see the drivers on track as much as possible.

When asked about the scale of the changes, he said: "It’s more evolution rather than revolution, with elements of the weekend tweaked to improve the show but also improve the working conditions for teams, particularly with the ambition to increase the calendar beyond the current 21 races," Brawn told Sky Sports.

“We are looking at how we streamline the weekend for teams but not in terms of track action. We want to have two or three more races per season, but we think we can do that by not overstressing the teams by trying to refine their weekends.

"To give you an example, there is a curfew, a limit on hours teams can work on Friday night and Saturday night but not a Thursday, so they all work all night on Thursday to get ready."

He added: “We need to improve the way we operate. Crates come in at all times of the day full of new parts [over a race weekend]. We can stop that. We can say the car that turns up is the car they race. It saves all that freight, all that work that is done over a race weekend.”

F1 News Ross Brawn

Replies (5)

calle.itw

Posts: 8,527
So just remove one of the sessions then? We only really need two practice sessions, methinks. Im not sure what I think about his final statement here, but I guess it could work out.
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- Apr 3 2019 - 22:32
f1dave

Posts: 782
No new parts allowed after arriving thursday , sounds almost like limiting the number of engines, etc. and we all know how that worked out.
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- Apr 3 2019 - 23:07
Fezile

Posts: 7
No new or any parts in? What happens when there is damage to a part and there is no replacement part? Depending on the part it could mean a car not racing - whose interest will be served by that, not fans, team or f1.
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- Apr 4 2019 - 12:33
cricho

Posts: 80
I like that. The car that turns up is the car they race.
Great way to set up everybody for race weekend by optimizing crate transport and other logistical issue costs. Great idea to level up small-mid pack teams.
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- Apr 5 2019 - 18:09
cricho

Posts: 80
The teams will obviously have spare parts to fix the cars in eventual failures. But the car that will be racing has to arrive ready to race. No last minute parts and improvised build ups.

question is, what kind of penalties will be given out for changing the cars after arrival.? ...changes with no damage in the car...?? Could be a really tough regulation on the cars.....or just a simple way to control crate overflow.
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- Apr 5 2019 - 18:17