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Former two-time F1 world champion Mika Hakkinen expressed his concerns with F1's increasingly busy calendar.
The 2023 season, albeit marred by the cancellation of two races (Imola due to climate conditions and the Chinese Grand Prix owing to COVID protocol), boasted an expansive schedule of 22 races.
Heading into the 2024 season, a similar schedule of 24 races is once again expected. This has raised concerns in the eyes of racing legend and former Finnish driver Mika Hakkinen.
The former Lotus and McLaren driver reflected on his era in Formula 1 and the intensity of the current racing schedule while speaking to Unibet International. Hakkinen said (via Motorsport Week):
“The 2023 season was record-breakingly long. Compared to my years in F1 – I think we had a maximum of 17 races – [there were] 22 races. I attended some of them [and] you could see in people’s faces how tough the end of the season was.”
The 55-year-old added:
“Ultimately, 22 races as a number is not that high. The problem is constantly having back-to-back races. The transitions from A to B are hard. Once again, you have to find the racing attitude and focus.”
Mika Hakkinen dwells into the levels of challenges due to a heavily-scheduled calendar
In the same interview with Unibet International, the Finnish legend stressed the difficulty of transitioning from one race to another, not just for drivers but also for mechanics and the overall organization.
Hakkinen said (via Motorsport Week):
“I think that’s the biggest challenge for many – not necessarily only the drivers, but the mechanics and the organization. That was probably the biggest challenge.”
“Maybe the world calls for it. The fans call for it. They want more races. More racing. The task of F1 is to deliver and fill the calendar," he added.
In Mika Hakkinen's eyes, the intensity of a sport characterized by super-high speeds demands a meticulous approach to avoid errors. He said:
“If I still drove in F1 and saw the number of races, I would have stern negotiations with the team about the compensation. We're talking about a sport with super high speeds. You don’t want to make mistakes.”
It remains to be seen if Mika Hakkinen's concerns reverberate through the paddocks and bring forth a change in the tight F1 schedule.
