F1 Drivers Complain About "Weird" Break So "Early In The Season"
There is an un-planned four-week gap in the F1 calendar, and whilst fans are becoming restless waiting for the racing to get going again in Azerbaijan, the drivers have mixed responses to the break.
The dramatic Australian Grand Prix was on 2nd April and the Azerbaijan Grand Prix is on 28-30 April. The Chinese Grand Prix was scheduled for in between the gap, however, the event had to be cancelled due to Covid-19 restrictions and cases still posing a threat to the teams and drivers.
The four-week gap is unusual for this early on in the season, however, some drivers are welcoming the break to have a re-set whereas others are ready to continue racing. Here is a look at what some of the drivers have said about the break.
Charles Leclerc
Leclerc has not had the best start to the season with two retirements and already taking a ten-place grid penalty for new power unit control electronics. So, it is no surprise that he is welcoming the break. He said the media ahead of the Australian Grand Prix:
"I think in the situation we are in as a team, we take this as an opportunity to work as much as possible during this break in order to get upgrades as quickly as possible and be as competitive as we want the sooner in this season.
"It's still a very, very long season, we've only done two races. So, we are fully motivated to get back on top. And we'll try to use these weeks in the best way possible."
Oscar Piastri
Piastri is currently the rookie with the highest points in the drivers championship. Despite a rocky start to the season after being forced to retire from the season-opening race in Bahrain, the Australian driver was able to put some points on the board in Melbourne. Explaining he has mixed feelings about the break, he explained:
"I think, for me, it's a nice opportunity to, I guess, look back at the first three races of my F1 career and digest what went well, what went not so well.
"And it's a bit of a reset for the rest of the year. So, I think it'll be nice for everyone.
"Obviously, you want to keep that momentum if you’re going well, it's a good chance to reset if you're not, so I think we'll use it to our advantage."
Zhou Guanyu
The break in the season is a bit different for Guanyu who is now having to miss out on driving in front of his home crowd in China, but explains that he is looking forward to having some time off as well. He explained:
"Obviously, I don't want to have that break, because you know which race was missing from that break!
"But yeah, I think with such a busy calendar we're going to, it’s not just about going to different race weekends, it’s also going to a lot of activities with the team, sponsorships.
"So I think it's always nice to have some period off, and I think for most of the drivers to reset and try to prepare for the forthcoming [races] and work on the weaknesses and try to improve all these things."
Fernando Alonso
It won't come as a surprise to many that Alonso is keen to continue racing. Especially after his incredible start to the season with Aston Martin. The two-time champion has managed finish third in all three races so far and is motivated to continue his streak. He explained about the break:
"No, I prefer to keep racing.
"Obviously, [we] will use it just to prepare for the next race in a better way and review the first three races.
"And, in my case it's a new team, so there are a couple of things that we want to revisit and things. So, yeah it's okay, but it's better to do it on a racetrack."
Lewis Hamilton
Hamilton is in agreement with Alonso and doesn't feel as though he needs a "mental break" just yet. Mercedes are continuing to struggle with the W14 cars, however, were able to turn things around for the Australian Grand Prix with Hamilton finishing in second-place.
The seven-time champion commented on the break:
"Honestly, I don't think I need a mental break at the moment.
"I feel pretty good. Particularly August usually is that time where you get that downtime.
"I think it's good for the team to be able to really just sit down and focus and churn away during that time, focus on bringing upgrades and fixing the car.
"I wish we were racing, personally, in that gap, but I'll try and make the best use of it. I haven't figured out exactly what I'll be doing through the whole time, but it'll be mostly training and keeping busy."
Max Verstappen
Current championship leader Max Verstappen has said that he thinks the break in the season is odd. The Belgian-Dutch driver has had a great start to the season, winning two out of the three races and coming second in the other.
Commenting on the season break, he said:
"It's a bit weird to have three weeks off, especially that early in the season."