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McLaren not fully in agreement with new calendar: 'Not changed our opinion'

McLaren not fully in agreement with new calendar: 'Not changed our opinion'

15-10-2021 14:35 Last update: 17:31
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GPblog.com

McLaren have indicated for several weeks that they are not in favour of a calendar with 23 Grands Prix, but nevertheless it seems that this will happen in 2022. Team boss Andreas Seidl explains the position of his team. He also thinks three GP's in a row is a bit too much.

"It's no surprise that triple-headers are coming up again," Seidl is quoted as saying by Motorsport-Total.com. "We also understand that there has to be a transition process before hopefully there will be a different calendar in the long term. But fundamentally we have not changed our opinion. We are in favour of a racing calendar with a maximum of twenty races."

McLaren finds it especially an attack on the staff who are currently only have 100 days a year at home, because the rest of the time races or test days are planned. Seidl doesn't think this is a healthy situation and therefore pleads for a return to a less busy schedule.

McLaren wants to rotate

This is contrary to the goal that Liberty Media strives for: opening up as many new markets as possible. According to McLaren, this can also go hand in hand. "Of course it's great that there is so much interest in Formula 1, but we also need to focus on quality and exclusivity." Seidl would like to see a calendar in the future with 15 fixed weekends and the remaining five GPs rotating with each other every few years.

At that point it would therefore be quite possible for Qatar to be raced once every three years, for example, and for the following two seasons to be raced in South Africa and Saudi Arabia respectively.