F1 Insider Sounds Alarm: Teams At Risk As Welfare Questioned

Saajan Jogia | Dec 31, 2024

May 4, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Crewmembers push the cars on the grid before the F1 Sprint Race at Miami International Autodrome. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-Imagn Images / John David Mercer-Imagn Images

Former Formula 1 mechanic and presenter Marc Priestley, who worked with McLaren in the past, has warned the sport about serious health repercussions arising out of the grueling 24-race calendar introduced this year, which will continue in 2025. Priestley pointed out that while drivers often travel in private jets, minimizing their stress to some extent, it is the team members and mechanics flying in economy class who bear the brunt of the demanding schedule. The effect is prominent during back-to-back double and triple-header race weekends, which could lead to an "accident".

Priestley highlighted the mental and physical strain on team members that is often overlooked amid a demanding routine. He added that considering the toll the long F1 season has been taking on their bodies, sooner or later, the FIA will have to intervene to make it mandatory for F1 teams to have staff working on rotational shifts. Speaking to Casino Uden Rofus:

"I wouldn't worry about driver welfare, I'd worry about the thousands of people up and down that pit lane.

"The drivers are flown in on a private jet last minute, and then flown out again after the race is done. It is still tough for the drivers, but nowhere near how tough it is for the teams. Lots of teams are being forced to deal with the travelling in different ways.

"I can see a future where the FIA have to mandate teams to rotate their workers and not make them work every race of the calendar year. 

"Some teams are already doing that, but there will be a point where all teams have to do it, from a health and safety perspective."

The last triple header of the 2024 season, where teams flew from Las Vegas to Qatar and then to Abu Dhabi, was "brutal," according to Priestley. The flight time alone from Las Vegas to Qatar is around 20 hours, and the jet lag takes a massive toll on the health of everyone involved. He added:

"That last triple-header was brutal, especially in the longest season of the sport's history, to go from Las Vegas to Qatar in a matter of days was so tough.

"The time differences and environmental changes have a big impact. You may think there's a whole week between the races, but the workers finish the race on the Sunday and then have to build their garage at the next location on the Tuesday. 

"It can't be sustained forever, sooner or later accidents will happen due to fatigued or unfit teams, and then something will be changed."