As the schedule of the Formula One 2023 season has been released, it raised quite worth asking questions. One of which includes how the teams will manage to book flights and hotels. It was not a problem earlier, as there were no cost cap regulations. And for the past two years, there has been no crowd due to the pandemic, plus there were only 22 races. But this year, there is no such lockdown thing due to the pandemic.
As per the teams, there is a very low budget, plus two more races. So indeed, things are going to be hectic and a little chaotic. The Formula One freight costs and the triple headers are highly increased by this year which is also causing the bosses of the teams to raise their voices against FIA.
In 2020 and 2021, all the hotels were almost available. But this year, as the pandemic is fading, people are already booking hotels, going on vacations, or doing work meetings. And as the racing tracks make the areas even more popular, the hotels situated nearby are fully booked. The biggest problem at present for the racing teams in booking hotel rooms is the prices that are too exorbitant to afford. The Formula One teams for which the budget was installed in order to give them financial stability how can they manage to bear the high-cost prices of flight tickets and hotel receipts.
Fights And Hotel Bills Becoming An Issue For Formula One Teams
Recently, the director of Alfa Romeo Sauber, Beat Zehnder, came out to raise concern on the matter. He believes that in 2023 one will have to pay 25% more to the hotels or resorts than last year. Speaking with Auto Motor and Sports, Zehnder stated England as an example where they had to pay 25% more than how they paid a year ago. He said, “It is getting harder everywhere in Formula One”.
Not only England, but the Sauber’s director also mentioned Austin, where almost all the nearby hotels are booked for 2023. He said, “We tried to book ten additional rooms in a hotel, but no chance. Everything was already blocked.” The increasing number of races in Formula One is not just creating venue problems. One has to look at the travel issues too.
Though the pandemic is not fully over yet, people are back to their normal life, which means flights are back in the sky. But the flight frequencies are not yet back to the maximum level. As a result, a huge jam of people is standing on a single plane. This will definitely create severe issues while reaching the Formula One Grand Prix championship scheduled cities.
Beat Zhendet explained, “We have problems getting people back from Melbourne.” A very serious issue is that even before the Formula One calendar was launched, all the flights were booked. And for the places that are still available, one will have to pay twice the charge in order to book them. Therefore, the two more races are quite a little problem for some of the team bosses. So far, not much of voices have been raised. But as soon as all the teams start facing these problems, FIA will definitely have to look after it