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

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10:55, 28 Nov 2021

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.

Pos.	Driver	Team	Points
1	Kimi Antonelli Kimi Antonelli	MercedesMER	156
2	Lewis Hamilton Lewis Hamilton	FerrariFER	90
3	George Russell George Russell	MercedesMER	88
4	Charles Leclerc Charles Leclerc	FerrariFER	75
5	Oscar Piastri Oscar Piastri	McLarenMCL	60
6	Lando Norris Lando Norris	McLarenMCL	58
7	Max Verstappen Max Verstappen	Red Bull RacingRBR	43
8	Isack Hadjar Isack Hadjar	Red Bull RacingRBR	29
9	Liam Lawson Liam Lawson	Racing BullsRCB	26
10	Pierre Gasly Pierre Gasly	AlpineALP	26
11	Oliver Bearman Oliver Bearman	HaasHAA	18
12	Franco Colapinto Franco Colapinto	AlpineALP	15
13	Arvid Lindblad Arvid Lindblad	Racing BullsRCB	13
14	Carlos Sainz Carlos Sainz	WilliamsWIL	6
15	Alexander Albon Alexander Albon	WilliamsWIL	5
16	Esteban Ocon Esteban Ocon	HaasHAA	3
17	Gabriel Bortoleto Gabriel Bortoleto	AudiAUD	2
18	Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso	Aston MartinAST	1
19	Nico Hulkenberg Nico Hulkenberg	AudiAUD	0
20	Valtteri Bottas Valtteri Bottas	CadillacCAD	0
21	Sergio Perez Sergio Perez	CadillacCAD	0
22	Lance Stroll Lance Stroll	Aston MartinAST	0

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

Raikkonen sees same high workload for mechanics

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