Criticism of full calendar unjustified: 'Much harder to work in F1 then'

There is a lot of talk about the Formula 1 calendar that is getting more and more crowded. There is more and more criticism about this overcrowded schedule, but Jost Capito argues that it is not so bad how hard it is to work in F1 these days.

Crowded F1 calendar

With 23 races on the calendar, Formula 1 hopes to break a record in 2022. The current record number of races in one season is 21 races, but will be broken in 2021 when the 22nd and final race of this season is held in Abu Dhabi. In 2022, however, the F1 circus must pass 23 circuits and that will be too much for some.

All this criticism is mounting, but there is also a downside to the story. Of course the calendar is getting fuller and fuller, but the comparison with twenty years ago is not valid. Back then the calendar was a lot less full, but the teams could still test to their heart's content. According to Capito this made for much fuller schedules.

Test teams

''When I worked in Formula 1 before, we still had forty tests. Of course we had built up test teams, but part of the race team also participated in the tests. Also, there was no curfew during race weekends yet, so the guys worked 24/7. I'm sure it was much harder to work in Formula 1 at that time'', the Williams team principal said to Motorsport.com.

Andreas Seidl, McLaren's team boss, doesn't think this is a good comparison though. ''That was a different time and a different generation. I was there at the time, but I would say that what we did then was not exactly sustainable. I don't think it's useful to compare it with twenty years ago'', concludes the German.