Former F1 team owner Eddie Jordan has warned the sport and its commercial rights holder Liberty Media over the effects of expanding Grand Prix racing's calendar in the future.
After the first three races of the 2023 season, teams still have another 20 to go in Formula 1's record 23-race campaign that will conclude in Abu Dhabi at the end of November.
And the paddock's grueling schedule would have included 24 venues this year had it not been for the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai due to ongoing Covid restrictions in the country.
The sport's extended calendar reflects the unwavering demand for F1 all over the globe.
But Jordan, who dealt with a peak of 19 races during his days as a team owner, says the schedule's logistics and travel burden already took a heavy toll on crews back then, but more importantly it impacted the wellbeing of entire families, including his own.
"I’ve become a really ardent family man in my older years," the Irishman told David Coulthard on the pair's Formula for Success podcast.
"Because to be fair, this is worth mentioning on behalf of all the crews and all the people and everyone in Formula 1, but if I ever feel that I’ve let people down, it’s probably my family.
"Because from the mid ’80s until the early 2000s, I spent 18 hours a day, seven days a week, trying to keep Jordan afloat, trying to make success, trying to build up drivers, trying to make some money, trying to see the future, trying to do everything!
"And my kids, I remember when Zoe said to me one day, which is really hard, she said, ‘dad, you’ve just turned up’. That’s funny, but it hurts."
For now, Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenical has called a potential 24-race schedule the upper limit for teams and personnel.
But with offers pouring in on the back of the sport's growing popularity and commercial success, F1 might be tempted to raise the bar past that number in the next Concorde Agreement that will come into force at the start of 2026.
"The problem is, with all the new races that are happening - and I’m saying this to everyone, I’m saying this to Liberty if they happen to listen - guys, be careful, because think about what you wish for, because very often, less is more.
"And I don’t think you can flog people and horses until they’re dead."
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