Formula 1's planned 22-race season in 2020 is the "absolute limit" for team personnel, AlphaTauri boss Franz Tost has claimed.
This year, the arrival of two new Grands Prix, Vietnam and Holland, has pushed the calendar to a new record level in terms of the number of races (though the cancellation of the Chinese GP would change that).
But with interest still emerging from countries like Argentina and Saudi Arabia as well as the continued efforts to take F1 to Miami next year, that figure could rise to 25 during this decade.
That prospect has only intensified the debate over where the limit is on how many races teams can cope with, but Tost believes it has now been reached before operational changes are needed.
“No, we haven’t made changes, it’s just one race more than last year,” he told RACER on if AlphaTauri had altered their approach for 2020.
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“From the timeframe, it’s nearly the same as last year, we start in March and the last race is at the end of November — there’s not a big change.
“In 2019, we started the season on March 17 and ended it on December 1, in 2020 we start on March 15 and the last race is on November 29. There’s not a big difference.
“There’s one race more during the season, but we do not need to change people on a rotating basis."
However: “I think 22 is now the absolute limit," the Austrian added.
“If we have more races in future then I think teams have to rotate people, mechanics, engineers because otherwise, it’s too much for them.”
Ultimately, as with most things in F1, the main reason for AlphaTauri unwillingly wanting to start rotating staff is about not wanting to disrupt what they feel gives them their best chance competitively.
“We’ve got a good team together now in Bicester in our aerodynamics department and from the mechanical side, we get the front and the rear suspension from Red Bull Technology," he explained.
"Although it’s always one year older nevertheless it’s much better than if we had to develop it by ourselves.
“It’s not that we have one totally weak area, but to be competitive in Formula 1 you have to improve everywhere just to make another step forward.
"If all the departments improve their work and come up with better solutions then, in the end, you have a good complete package together to be competitive and beat the others.”
