Teams mulling winter shutdown after gruelling season

Formula 1 teams are considering introducing a winter shutdown to give their hard-working staff a much-needed break at the end of a gruelling season.

This year the schedule has included 22 races across nine months and it only gets worse next season with a record 24 events planned, beginning at the start of March and lasting until the end of November.

To cope with the threat of staff burnout, the teams are reportedly discussing introducing a mandatory break for all personnel over the winter, along the lines of the two-week summer break in August.

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During that time, no one from the racing side is allowed to enter the factories, in order to ensure that they get the necessary rest and recreation away from the pressures of the sport.

Teams already shut down over Christmas and New Year, but unlike the summer this break is voluntary and not officially part of the rules.

It has been reported by Motorsport.com that discussions are underway between team sporting directors and the F1's Sporting Advisory Committee to introduce a mandatory winter break in the next revision of the regulations.

The talks are still at an early stage and not all teams are in agreement, but the proposal is seen as having a good chance of being adopted.

"There are many of us team principals that would like to replicate what we have in the summer," commented Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff. "At least starting at Christmas and going into the new year for two weeks.

"Obviously that's still up for discussion, but there was a positive indication for the well-being of the people," he added. "For the race team that's clocking many airline miles, that's a positive."

Last year the season didn't finish until December 12 because of COVID delays. On top of that, teams were working flat out working on new cars for 2022 after significant changes to the technical regulations.

This year the season finishes three weeks earlier, and the regulations are unchanged meaning there won't be a huge amount of work on next year's car designs.

"It's great that the season finishes this couple of weeks earlier than in the past, because everyone is really at the limit," admitted Wolff. "Having this week, two weeks more is definitely a nice welcome.

"But on the other side, there's many people in the factory who are going to work flat out between Christmas and New Year."

Even Wolff has been feeling the strain, recently opting out of attending the Japanese Grand Prix in person - the first race he's missed since 2019, although he still called the shots from the team's base at Brackley.

The 2023 season is scheduled to start two weeks earlier than this year, with the first race of the season set to take place in Bahrain on March 5. There will only be one pre-season test before the race, compared with two this year.

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