F1 team engineers foresee different solutions from outfits in their rotation policy with 24 races coming up in 2023 season.
As the F1 calendar continues to expand year on year, teams have been forced to bring in different types of rotation policies to help its members to be able to not only work with their 100% effort, but also spend quality time with their families.
Already COVID-19 has had a negative impact in overall terms of mindset of people and with increasing amount of races along with sprint events, it is a lot for everyone. The 2023 season will see a record 24 events where six rounds will feature sprint races.
Multiple team engineers foresee different solutions and approaches in 2023 in their rotation policy and they will had to adjust accordingly. They feel the number of races is not a problem as much as the way they are packed together with different venues.
Here’s what the F1 engineers made of it:
Dave Robson (Williams): “Yeah, it’s going to be interesting. It’s new ground for all of us. And there are pros and cons to rotating some of the key engineering positions. I obviously can’t speak for the other teams but I think we will probably see different approaches. We have introduced some rotation, so you will hear different voices talking to the drivers at different races. We’ve been doing that for the last season and a half in preparation for an extended calendar.
“And I think with the calendar it’s not just the number of races, it’s the way they’re packed in. So it’s very difficult. If you travel to all the races, then you spend very little time in the factory and that’s not very helpful for developing the car. So yeah, I think rotation is probably going to be important for the long term future of the engineering team and the mechanics so I think we will have to get into some rotation, it’s just a matter of how we do it, what’s the most efficient way.
Ayao Komatsu (Haas): “Yeah, quite similar to what Dave said. You know it’s so important to have integration between trackside people and factory-based people as well. If we don’t rotate, trackside people don’t see if factory and then communication becomes an issue. And we’ve started a little bit already this year in certain positions, and then we see the benefit already. So we’re going to continue to improve on that as well so more of that, but also at the same time it’s contingency.
“It’s not very realistic to think that 24 events, if you don’t have any backup personnel, and they can do all 24 races without any illness or whatever so it’s important, both in terms of having that contingency in place so that when something unexpected does happen, we don’t drop the performance at the trackside, but also at the same time just improve communication between trackside and factory and it’s positive. So yeah, we definitely looked into a slightly different model next year.
Matt Elliott (Mercedes): “I guess similar answers, really. I think what’s important is finding that right balance between having people that are fresh and are able to do their job to the best they can do it but also having the continuity you need across engineers. So I think there will be a level of rotation that needs to be put in place and it’ll be different across different roles and probably trying to match that to the needs of the individuals as well. Because I think that will be important.”
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