F1 recently released the 2024 calendar which consists of a staggering 24 races, making it the biggest season of all time. China will make a comeback after being absent from the calendar for four years. Other than that, all the other races have been a part of the schedule for the last couple of years. However, the drivers have shown their concern about the increased number of races, to which Lewis Hamilton now has a solution.
Even though qualification and race day gets most of the attention, the entire weekend is pretty long for drivers. It starts with a media day on Thursday, followed by free practices on Friday. Then comes qualifying and race day, which makes the entire schedule pretty hectic for the F1 stars.
As mentioned, Thursday usually includes a media day for drivers, where they answer questions asked by journalists. However, they have to appear in front of the press again after the various sessions that take place over the next few days. And this is where Hamilton feels, the problem lies.
Lewis Hamilton’s ultimate solution
Speaking with BBC’s Jennie Gow at the Chequered Flag podcast, Hamilton has opened up on the long weekend that the drivers have to go through. This was Gow’s first interview with the seven-time world champion since she suffered a stroke earlier this year.
Speaking about the race calendar, the 38-year-old driver stated, “I don’t mind more races. But let’s shorten the weekends. That’s the way, let’s get into the race.” Following this, Hamilton joked, “No media day.”
FP1 coming right up at Silverstone. 😁 Time to hit the track, Team. 💪
— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) July 7, 2023
Hearing this, Gow showed her resistance with “Oh, come on. This is the best day.” On her insistence, the Mercedes star agreed, “Maybe just one interview. Maybe this one, the most important one.”
Lewis Hamilton echoes Max Verstappen’s comments
Before Lewis Hamilton provided the ultimate solution, he also shared his take on the long season that is approaching. He feels that the weekends are too long for drivers and team members. Emphasizing on this, the British driver suggested that F1 should have a three-day weekend. Consequently, it will also be a good direction towards long-term sustainability, Hamilton added.
However, the Silver Arrows ace’s pressing concerns have synced well with Max Verstappen’s complaints. Neither Hamilton, nor Verstappen seem very enthusiastic about the upcoming campaign. Moreover, the Dutchman has always shown his reluctance towards adding new races to the calendar. So much so that he constantly threatened to quit the sport.
As the 24 race calendar has now been announced, Verstappen has no choice but to deal with it. But in the end, according to F1 chief Stefano Domenicali, 24 races is the “right number” of events on the calendar for the long term.
