Despite the Las Vegas GP being a spectacular hit once the race ended, the ‘greatest show on earth’ uncovered a major flaw of the sport. The hectic schedule of the race took a heavy toll on all the drivers, exposing the immense stress they were under throughout the weekend. However, Pierre Gasly recently claimed that what people see is only a minute part of life as an F1 driver and that the behind-the-scenes picture is much more stressful.
Last dance with this A523 ! #F1 #AbuDhabiGP pic.twitter.com/nfopx2yJ9C
— Pierre Gasly Fans Fr (@PG10_FanactuFr) November 26, 2023
Speaking to The Athletic, Gasly revealed how the build-up to a race weekend is much more stressful and hectic than fans might realize. From analyzing how to find a couple of thousandths or hundredths of a second to attending strategy meetings and debriefs amid a plethora of other duties, a driver’s obligations take a massive toll on them.
“I think that’s one thing people don’t really realize — how intense it is from the moment, the first second we enter the paddock until Sunday night when we leave.”
He added once a race is over, the usual schedule of a driver is to go back to the hotel, grab dinner, talk to their families or partners, and go to sleep. The next day, it is back to the grind. Per Gasly, the days are very long, and the drivers rarely get any time to relax, however, many might believe that their weekdays are relatively light.
Pierre Gasly said what every F1 driver thinks
With an already hectic schedule, the added show of the Las Vegas GP made life tougher for the drivers who went to Sin City to compete in a race. An inauguration ceremony, added media and PR duties, and a delayed and extended FP2 session meant the drivers had to endure one of the toughest race weekends in recent history despite what happened in Qatar.
#F1 personnel call for changes to #LasVegasGP schedule: “Everybody is leaving slightly f***ed”https://t.co/RD7t6AMv2S
— Pit Debrief (@PitDebrief) November 21, 2023
As the race in Vegas got over, a camera zoned in on an over-tired Daniel Ricciardo, whose eyes had nearly doubled in size due to the lack of sleep. His tensions increased when Ricciardo came to know that from next year, the Las Vegas GP will kick off a triple-header final month, after a week’s gap from the season’s penultimate triple-header.
As such, not only will the logistics around each of these races become extremely hard to manage, but the kind of physical and mental toll it will take on the drivers is unimaginable. Given the same, it seems F1 has an important choice to make between the drivers’ well-being and their financial gains.
