A long F1 season: Good or bad

New entries in F1

Formula One is one of the most awaited sports in European and American countries when compared to India. It has gained a lot of fame in our country after the inaugural Indian Grand Prix in 2011. The more the number of races in a season, the more the fans gets amused. In the past, there were never more than 16 or 17 races in a year and from 2010 we had 19 races, for two years. The following year, United States Grand Prix was again added to the calendar after a gap of five years making the count to 20 races.

The governing body of F1, Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) has given thumps up for having 22 races in the upcoming season in 2014. The newly added races in the next season are going to be Mexico, Russia, Austria and New Jersey. The Russian Grand Prix is apparently happens to be the 100^th anniversary of the last race held in 1914. The Red Bull Racing has managed to get back the Austrian Grand Prix after it was left out of the calendar for ten years. It is going to be their home Grand Prix; the A1-Ring circuit has been re-named as Red Bull ring after it was purchased by the energy drinks company.

Grand Prix of America is the new entry in the calendar of F1. The race is going to be held in the yet-to-be constructed Port Imperial Street Circuit, New Jersey. After the Austin race, this is the second one to take place in the United States. The 22 races in 2014 mark the year for holding the most number of races and being the longest season (259 days). This is going to be music in the ears of Formula One fans. But the change in the rules and cars for 2014, the increase in the number of races may not be an easy task for the constructors.

22 races may lead to

Have the fans ever found out how many litres of fuel are used by each team in a race? The number forces us to think twice if this sport is of so much importance that we let our resources go in waste. A Formula One team utilizes over 200,000 litres of fuel for testing and racing during a typical season. Since 11 teams participate in a season, so mathematically 22, 00,000 litres of fuel is used. Up to last year there were 12 constructors; HRT Formula One team withdrew after the end of 2011 season due to financial reasons. The fuel is available in 50 different blends—depending upon the nature of the track and weather conditions it is used.

The F1 drivers lose about 3kgs weight after a race due to extreme heat in the cockpit. So, more number of races can cause health problems to the drivers. Neither the drivers nor the teams will compromise by giving a race or two to the test or reserve drivers of the respective teams. Be it Sebastian Vettel, Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton or Paul Di Retsa—all of them are determined to win—their dieticians are the right persons to be asked whether the racers think about their health or no.

Increase of the sport globally…

The pros of having 22 races can only be the increase of the sport around the world. Talking specifically about India, it is sad seeing Indian Grand Prix is excluded from the calendar next year due to political issues but is expected to return back in 2015. FIA should take up the challenge to bring F1 in India and bring the craze for the sport here but this cannot be done by skipping Indian GP for a year. The Budh Circuit, New Delhi does not get the same response as the other circuits across the world. This could one day become a reason for removing India from the calendar.