The F1 2023 season is currently in the midst of the annual summer break and the campaign will only resume at the end of this month. Every season, F1 has a summer break in August to ensure that the teams get some well-deserved rest. During this month, the FIA does not allow any personnel of any team to work. This is the one rule that McLaren strategist Randeep Singh believes no team has broken to date.
As a result of no team having broken this rule in F1 history, Singh does not even know what the penalty is for the same. The McLaren engineer shed light on the same while appearing on the latest episode of The Fast And The Curious podcast.
Randeep Singh explains the rules of F1’s summer break
When asked on the podcast if the teams really do shut down everything during F1’s summer break, Randy Singh replied, “E-mails, laptop, everything, you’re not allowed to use it at all. The factory is not open. It’s actually incredibly strict. We let everyone know what the rules are, and we have two weeks of peace and quiet to be recharged before the next bit of the season“.
After the McLaren strategist stated the same, the interviewers asked him what would happen if they do end up using their laptops, for example. In reply, Singh stated it would result in a breach of sporting regulations.
However, he did admit that the FIA has not caught anyone for the same to date, and as a result, he does not know what the penalty is for working during the summer break. After stating the same, Singh added that F1 teams also have a similar break during Christmas time.
As for the Woking-based outfit, it seems that the summer break may have come at the wrong time as the team was just gaining some outstanding momentum. This is because, their star driver Lando Norris has two P2 finishes in the last three races, and has scored 45 of his 69 points in this duration alone.
Singh explains if the summer break will stop McLaren’s momentum
Considering the kind of turnaround that McLaren have had from the start of this season, all eyes will undoubtedly be on them when the campaign resumes at the end of August. The only issue that they might face is that they will have to reset as soon as possible following this three-week break.
Speaking of whether the break may stop the team’s momentum, Singh believes it will not affect them much as everyone in the paddock goes through it. In fact he believes that if the McLaren team members were to use the break efficiently, they will be able to recharge better than their competitors and come back even stronger after the break.
Considering that McLaren have already begun fighting for podiums recently, the next step for them will undoubtedly be to continue this momentum and even challenge the Red Bulls for a win at some point this season. However, it is fair to say that McLaren will need to find a huge amount of pace if they are to challenge the Milton Keynes-based outfit, who remain unbeaten this year so far.
