Raikkonen not bothered by full F1 calendar: "I go home in between races"

When Kimi Raikkonen started his Formula 1 career almost 20 years ago, seasons were not as long as they are today. His debut season had seventeen Grands Prix, while twenty-three is now the norm. According to Raikkonen the workload back then was not much less than it is now, especially for the mechanics.

The Finn said in conversation with Speedweek.com: "We tested between races, so I think it's actually better to do more races instead of having to do a few days of testing between GP weekends."

Raikkonen sees same high workload for mechanics

"So it wasn't any more relaxed, there were just fewer races," added the 2007 World Champion. Many people experienced the past triple-header as stressful, but Raikkonen dealt with it in his own way: "I went back home between all the races."

He continued: "Of course it was only for two days, but I enjoyed the time and the jet lag doesn't really bother me. But many people, such as the mechanics, have long working days, especially when the cars arrive too late on the way."

By this he was referring to the late arrival of the trucks in Brazil, which meant that some teams had to wait a long time for their equipment before they could get to work. "They had to work night shifts in São Paulo, which is of course tough," concluded the 42-year-old Finn.