"Our people will do more weekends"- Ferrari's racing director suggests how to overcome 'challenge' of 24 races in 2023 F1 season

Ferrari sporting director Laurent Mekies has a positive outlook on the increase in the number of races in the F1 calendar.

There are reports of a 24-race calendar next season, with the races likely to increase even more in the future. For Mekies, the team will have to do more weekends but there could be steps to make these weekends less hectic.

He said in an exclusive interview with Racingnews365.com:

"That's a job we do hand-in-hand with the other teams, with the FIA in these sporting forums, in such a way that the race weekend itself becomes a bit less taxing on the people, because they will have to deal with more races. Our people will do more weekends, but the weekend itself becomes easier than it was certainly a few years ago, when you didn't have Parc Ferme. You could stay here until four o'clock in the morning."

He added that the teams are exploring different options to make things easier, saying:

"It is down to each team to implement – or not – a rotation system in their squad based on whether or not it feels it will be competitive enough for the team. We are also exploring these aspects."

The Ferrari sporting director admityed that the number of races increasing is going to be a challenge but is happy that the sport's demand is increasing. He said:

"This is also a big challenge. Yes, the calendar is expanding, because there is a fantastic attraction to F1 right now, (with) new attractions (and a) new audience. It's great for the sport, and we are all glad that this is the case. We are in an organisation where we put people in the centre of the project, so we want to make sure that our people have the right set of conditions around them to work."

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Budget cap constraint is huge for Ferrari

The Ferrari sporting director also touched on the impact the budget cap has had on the sport. He called it 'an adventure' the sport started, and the final shape will take some time to materialise. He said:

"Yes, the level of the constraint is huge. It is not finished because, as you know, there are various steps in the budget cap, and then you also have the new cars, they came into the equation. I think it's the beginning of the adventure, because the real discussion is not about the numbers of the cost cap, or how much (it) is going up by, or if it is going up with inflation, or the plan reductions."

The Ferrari sporting director also talked about a concern in terms of policing the budget cap, saying:

"There is one key factor: policing. For us as a sport, it took years and years and years, and decades, to mature the regulations, and you have something that is massively constraining the top teams. Therefore, the level of policing you need to have on that is extremely high."

Ferrari's progress from last season as a midfield team to a frontrunner this season has been impressive. It will be interesting to see if they can take the next step to become a title winner. They currently trail Red Bull by almost 100 points in the constructor standings.