F1 News: Fernando Alonso Joins The List Of Drivers To Call Out 2024 Season - "How Unfair"

Fernando Alonso called out the 2024 season for a lack of testing time.

Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso raised concerns about teams having insufficient testing time during the pre-season testing to adequately set up their cars for the upcoming 2024 season. Having to split one car between two drivers during the three-day session is something that the Spaniard thinks is unfair.

Key Takeaways:

• Testing Time Concerns: Aston Martin driver Fernando Alonso is worried about the limited testing time for teams in preparation for the 2024 season, particularly the unfairness of splitting one car between two drivers in a three-day session.
• Sergio Perez on Long Season: Red Bull's Sergio Perez highlights the challenges of the extensive 24-race season, noting the tight schedule that leaves little room for pre-season testing.
• Alonso's Proposal: Alonso suggests extending pre-season testing to four days or allowing teams to run both cars for two days to address the scarcity of testing time in Formula 1 compared to other sports.

Recently, Red Bull driver Sergio Perez pointed out that the record-breaking 24-race season this year was so long that a lengthy window for pre-season testing, scheduled between 21 and 23 February, cannot be accommodated in the calendar.

Alonso feels strongly about the lack of sufficient testing time, since he comes from a Formula 1 era when teams had the liberty to test their machines for several days without restrictions on the distance the cars could be run for. 

Speaking to the media, the 42-year-old driver revealed that there is no other sport with such scarcity pertaining to pre-season testing. He said:

“I've been thinking all winter about this, how unfair is [it] that we have one day and a half to prepare a world championship.

“There's no other sport in the world…"

Alonso raised another point, questioning why sport would not extend the pre-season-testing to four days, or perhaps allow teams to run both their cars since there are two drivers in each team. He added:

“With all the money involved, and with all the marketing and the good things that we say about Formula 1, and being closer and closer to the fans, I cannot understand why we then go to Bahrain for four days, which could be two and two for [each of] the drivers.

“If you go to three, which is not even, which is an odd number, you cannot divide [fairly] between the drivers.

“And I don't know why we don't go with two cars.”

While one reason for Formula 1 to implement a three-day session between two drivers and one F1 car is to minimize costs, there is a suggestion that the sport could have devised a more optimal plan for this year, especially given that the first race and pre-testing will occur at the same location in Bahrain.

With all the necessary equipment already shipped to Sakhir, the additional costs of running a second car would primarily involve personnel and operational expenses. Some argue that these costs are insignificant compared to the potential benefits.

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