In the past, very long ago, there were fewer than ten races per year, followed by a few decades of approximately sixteen. This was somewhat sparse, admits columnist Noël Ummels. But too much of a good thing can be harmful.
Give the people bread and games. These are the famous words of the Roman poet Juvenal, albeit paraphrased over the centuries and often mistakenly attributed to Julius Caesar, because it was the emperors who kept the people content with crumbs and entertainment. I would say: fine, but do it in moderation. Two millennia later, we are not so fond of moderation, rather we lean towards the decadence that led to the downfall of the Roman Empire.
Formula 1 is no exception. Consider the exorbitant spectacle of F1 75 Live at the beginning of this season, the epitome of contemporary kitsch. And look at the ever-expanding calendar with races in glittering locations, oil states under the yoke of potentates with the moral compass of another such emperor: Caligula. Meanwhile, Africa is left out in the cold. Ironically enough, there was a South African Grand Prix for many years during apartheid, but after the fall of that racist regime, the country was only allowed to host a Formula 1 race twice.
And now? Now Formula 1 is aiming for a Grand Prix in Rwanda, a country that is stoking the bloody conflict with its larger neighbor Congo, with a president who has been in power for a quarter of a century through oppression in which he does not shy away from violence.
Yes, it’s inhumane, but there’s also inhumanity on a smaller scale. No, we don’t need to go back to the early years of the World Championship in the 1950s, when the calendar had fewer than ten races. We also don’t need to return to the turn of this century, with around sixteen or seventeen races. Since then, the number has skyrocketed to the current 24, not counting sprints. Bread and circuses have been replaced by chips and races. It’s great for entertaining the masses, but the downside is that those who have to put on the show are being run ragged.
We don’t need to feel sorry for the drivers and team leaders. They’re well taken care of with luxury hotel rooms, business class flights, or private jets. But the mechanics are crammed into economy class just like you and me. They spend about a week on a race. With the many back-to-back and even triple-header races these days, they barely get home. And of the summer break, barely two weeks remain, considering the aftermath of one race and the build-up to the next also take a few days. Try maintaining a decent family life, let alone a relationship with family and friends, under those conditions.
What we don’t want is for Formula 1 to become one long clickbait. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what the commercial exploiters of the sport want. They prefer to exchange the label of sport for show. Very American, yes, as owner Liberty Media hails from the land of bluff and bombast. Well, if it must be so, require the teams to rotate personnel. How they solve that is up to them: by drawing from the existing pool or by hiring a double pit crew. Whatever you want, as long as you stay under the budget cap.
But even then, limit it to a maximum of 25 races. Otherwise, you’ll see the most spectacular driver of the bunch, responsible for the majority of what the F1 marketers probably refer to as eyeballs, throwing in the towel. Max Verstappen does it mainly for fun, and that will quickly fade with an overloaded calendar.
