Gone are the days when the F1 calendar used to have just 16 or 17 rounds and the season used to conclude by October. Under Liberty Media’s regime since 2018, the number of races has increased exponentially to 24, as the American conglomerate has aimed at bringing in new venues and tapping into new markets such as the USA and the Middle East.
While this makes for a wonderful spectacle for F1 fans, the calendar scheduling does give a headache to the Formula One Management (FOM) and the FIA. While the season does run till December, there is a month-long summer break and a three-month winter break necessary for teams and drivers to rest and recalibrate.
So, scheduling 24 races in the remaining period does require clubbing races together as double headers and triple headers. Now, fans may like the back-to-back racing action for three weeks continuously, but drivers, mechanics, and journalists, who work tirelessly to make F1 the spectacle that it is, are not fond of such double and triple headers.
It can be physically and mentally consuming, says F1 journalist Ben Hunt. He even elaborated on how drivers may lose the willingness to face the media amid the grueling schedule. That is when Hunt also highlighted what Max Verstappen’s mental state would’ve been at the Saudi Arabian GP, which was the final race of the recent triple header.
Verstappen received a five-second penalty for a lap one incident with Oscar Piastri at the start of the Grand Prix in Jeddah last weekend. When he was asked to share his thoughts about the penalty in his post-race interactions with the media, the Dutchman was not willing to discuss it.
Hunt did acknowledge that Verstappen would’ve wanted to avoid any penalty for swearing or offending the stewards via his comments, which happened with him at last year’s Singapore GP. That said, Hunt also stated that it could’ve been the fatigue of the physically taxing triple header.
“Everything slows down [during a triple header], your ability to work to the best of your ability is inhibited by just being tired. We see that within staff enthusiasm, obviously the drivers’ mentality as well,” he said.
Verstappen has been vocal about the increasing stress of the F1 calendar with more number of races and additional sprint race events. Knowing what he and his team mechanics and engineers face from a mental and physical standpoint, the reigning world champion doesn’t feel comfortable staying in F1 for long if the sport expands at this rate.
For now, though, the Dutchman won’t be going anywhere for the foreseeable future and is just focusing on winning more championships. Amid that, he would be feeling quite frustrated about the penalty he received in Saudi Arabia.
Max Verstappen was not giving much away post-Saudi Arabian GP about his thoughts on his 5-second penalty: pic.twitter.com/wo8AhyHjsW
— The Race (@wearetherace) April 20, 2025
As Verstappen went off the track at turn one while being wheel-to-wheel with Piastri, he did not cede the place back, which was a violation in the stewards’ eyes. They penalized him for ‘leaving the track and gaining a lasting advantage’. And naturally, the #1 driver was not content with this decision.
It’s been seven days since the Saudi Arabian GP weekend concluded, and Verstappen hasn’t given his candid thoughts about the penalty. With the Miami GP happening next weekend, the Red Bull driver may pass some indirect quips or continue to stay silent.
