Formula 1 scheduling is a bizarre enterprise. One need only look at how the series bounced from Imola, Italy to Miami, Florida, and then back to Barcelona, Spain. If building frequent flyer miles is the goal, then this bouncing between continents makes sense; otherwise, there is definitely a reason for questioning the reason for the peculiar quirk in the season.
Quirk might be a worthy term for the goofiness if the sport were not playing out the exact same scenario once more. Having raced in Monaco, then headed east to Baku, Azerbaijan teams have now packed up their gear and headed to Montreal, Canada. After the quick stop to the province, the sport again heads back across the Atlantic Ocean to race Silverstone in England.
What is the point of all this absurdity? Would it not have made more sense to schedule Miami and Montreal on a swing of eastern Northern America? Logic, of course, never seems to be at the heart of scheduling races.
What makes the decision to hold the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend more difficult to understand is that there is no off week before doing so. Instead, teams packed up in Baku and set about work getting their stuff ready for the visit to Montreal immediately. The rush to get to Canada seems strange considering that F1 has not been there in two years.
One might think that a grace week would help in promoting the event, or giving the Canadian race fans the love they deserve with driver appearances, all the bells and whatnot, and having drivers chug maple syrup or visit Tim Hortons or whatever cute promo stuff would work. Rather than give the city where the motto is “well-being through harmony” the spotlight for too much time, it appears as though F1 has decided that the visit is a rush job. With Covid numbers friendly enough to allow ʻnormativeʻ existence, there is little doubt that the Canadian fans will be rabid in their support. For the team members not able to sleep in hyperbaric chambers or have personal massage and physio persons catering to their bodies, these journies are the reasons that they face fatigue and make mistakes. Maybe that is what the FIA wants –– added drama never hurt the show and Ferrari surely cannot blow engines every week. Right? Right?!
In other news that will add to the scheduling enigma, rumors are strong that F1 will be returning to South Africa in the very near future. F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali flew to South Africa after the Azerbaijan GP with the…
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