F1 Teams Unhappy With 2023 F1 Calendar Announcement: “Unacceptable”
The 2023 F1 calendar has just been confirmed to have a record breaking 24 races and the Formula 1 teams have been left frustrated by the unexpected announcement.
It has been reported that the announcement was made with no warning and prior to obtaining the teams’ approval. The news, which came out on Tuesday from F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, has only given a sense of a greater gap between the teams and the FIA as well as a worry for fatigue for next year, according to a source within the sport. The FIA’s approach to the announcement has been branded by one team member as “unacceptable”.
The news of the calendar was meant to be released on Friday, however, it was released early after a meeting of the World Motor Sport Council. The teams seem to have an issue with the announcement coming out without any notice, but also that the 2023 calendar includes as fly-away triple header of USA, Mexico and Brazil which would usually require the pre-approval from the teams. Although the teams have accepted this in the past, they would theoretically have to approve this again.
The FIA maintains that there is still a good working relationship between them and the teams.
The 2023 F1 calendar will kick off on 5th March in Bahrain and come to a close in Abu Dhabi on 26th November. We will see the introduction of the Las Vegas Grand Prix, as well as the return of the Chinese Grand Prix. Many fans were shocked to see that the French GP has not made it onto the calendar for next year, and after questions surrounding the future of the Monaco GP, fans have been pleased to see it has kept its spot.