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F1 says triple-header would only return for flyaways
Formula 1 will only consider having a triple-header again in the future if it was for a run of flyaway races, says grand prix racing’s sporting director Steve Nielsen.
Jonathan Noble
Published: Sep 27, 2018, 8:09 AM
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This year the French, Austrian and British Grands Prix all ran on consecutive weekends, but the intensity of the events allied to daunting travel schedule left teams unhappy about how tiring it was for personnel.
F1 has steered clear of attempting another triple-header in 2019, and Nielsen has said that if it was ever felt necessary to do it again in the future then it would be highly unlikely to be for European events.
Asked ahead of the Russian GP about the lessons of the triple-header, Nielsen explained: "I think what it taught us is that if we were to do a triple-header again – and it's not something we'd undertake lightly - it would certainly be better to do it at flyaway events rather than European ones.
"In Europe we have large hospitality units. They are unique, but constructing and deconstructing them is enormously time consuming and hugely expensive in terms of manpower etc.
"So if we were to do something like a triple-header I think it would be at flyaways."
Nielsen has explained that while the distances travelled in flyaways are greater, they are actually logistically easier for teams to deal with than European events.
"While European back-to-backs probably sound simpler, they are far more complex than the flyaways," he said.
"The European back-to-backs involve taking down motorhomes, building motorhomes, fleets of trucks and all sorts of movement. In Europe, F1 requires nearly 300 articulated trucks. It's actually far more complex than a flyaway.
"With flyaways the distances are obviously far greater, but you're basically packing everything up and putting it all on the same set of planes.
"Formula 1 organises the movement of all the teams' freight and it's a very efficient process; the way in which the equipment moves is much slicker than at a European race.
"If you had to choose a pattern F1 is best set up for, it's ironically the long distance flyways that are the easiest in terms of logistics."
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