F1’s 2023 season begins with three trips to the Arabian Peninsula over four weeks for testing and the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. It then travels to Melbourne for an independence weekend on the other side of the world, before another planned in China – canceled due to COVID-19.

Next, F1 travels to Baku, followed by a race in Miami over the weekend. F1 will then welcome the first of two triple races that, despite widespread criticism, will return to the calendar with weekends at Imola, Monaco and Barcelona.

During his tenure as GPDA director, Mercedes driver Russell has been outspoken in the past about the need to realign the schedule to make it more sustainable for staff. While the results are not yet visible, Russell feels the riders are being heard and the calendar will be organized more logically over the next few years.

“I think we have a very strong input together and I think Stefano (Domenicali, F1 chief executive) is very willing to listen to our point of view and have a dialogue,” Russell said.

“Obviously there’s been a lot of talk about the sustainability of the calendar, jumping from the Middle East to America and back to Europe, and I think it’s going to improve over the next few years. I don’t think it’s going to make a lot of sense for a lot of fans.

Melbourne’s place on calendar in doubt

Photography: Mark Sutton/ motorsport pictures

The fact that the Australian Grand Prix is ​​a stand-alone event is a particular headache, and one that is easily fixed, as F1 personnel returning to Europe from Melbourne usually fly via Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha.

The last time the Albert Park event was run alongside the race was in 2013, when it was held back-to-back with the Malaysian Grand Prix, another destination easily accessible from Australia. Since then, there has always been a two-week gap to the next race in Malaysia or Bahrain, adding extra miles and making the jet lag even more challenging.

Teams would also prefer to see a race pairing between Miami and Canada, with a second triple in Austin, Mexico and Brazil looking particularly punishing in 2023.

“The climate has a lot of constraints; we race on certain events and street circuits, when they can open them,” Russell said. “But I definitely think Australia needs to play back-to-back Middle East games because I think almost all of us flew here on Saturday or Sunday last week.

“All the mechanics, the same goes for the engineers, so you’ve lost an extra three or four days. So, yes, it makes sense to play back-to-back Middle East races.”

In discussing changes to the format for the weekend, Russell suggested that the pressure of 24 races could be eased by holding only one practice session on Friday afternoon so teams could arrive a day later.

“Having the first race on a Friday afternoon and evening for the benefit of 2,000 or 3,000 people traveling the world, so there’s less pressure on the teams to arrive, let’s say, on Wednesday,” when asked about his ideal race , he replied weekend format.

“If you do the first game on a Friday morning, you need to be here on Thursday and for a lot of games that needs to fly on Wednesday.

“If we can hold off and allow the teams to fly on Thursday morning; you add up 24 races in a year and you’re going to sleep at home or in your own bed for almost a month extra, which is huge for this circus. everyone.”