Haas boss Guenther Steiner feels that F1 should add more sprint races to their 24-race calendar from 2023 onwards.
The introduction of sprint races in F1 has been met with heavy criticism. Fans are divided on whether they should stay in F1 or not. Some feel that it adds more value to a race weekend, but others believe that the structure of a race weekend should remain as it is.
A lot of teams are also concerned about sprint races taking over because of the $145 million budget cap. More races mean that there are increased chances of crashing and other incidents that incur extra costs. This is why they want the cap to be more flexible if Sprint races are to stay.
This season, we have seen two Sprint weekends so far, with a third one set to take in Brazil in November. However, the 2023 season will see six Sprint races spread across its 24-race schedule.
While adding more races to next year’s calendar isn’t possible, Steiner feels that they can increase the number of Sprint races.
Sprint races are not extra work for teams, insists Guenther Steiner
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said that increasing the number of races from 24, won’t be possible for F1. Having more races is profitable for the business because it means that more fans will be tuning in over the course of a year.
Steiner has a solution for that. The 57-year-old feels that adding more Sprint races will increase the value of a race weekend. This is because fans will have more to cheer for, and the number of races per year will be more.
“You get more out of the race weekend for the spectators,” Steiner said. “Because you have more races on a weekend, it is a good thing.”
“The sprint races are more work but they are not a lot more work. Maybe then we can do something. Have qualifying on a Saturday morning instead of having the practice, have qualifying there for the Sunday race.”
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Haas won’t be able to rotate the workforce like Mercedes
Earlier this year, Mercedes’ team principal Toto Wolff said that he won’t be able to attend all 24 races next year. He along with some of the top teams have decided to rotate their work force, something which they have been doing already.
Haas, meanwhile, cannot do that. Steiner revealed that they can rotate a few mechanics working for them, but they don’t have the workforce size which Ferrari, Mercedes or Red Bull have.
As a result, even though it’s logistically very difficult, they will have to deal with travelling to 24 races in 2023.
