F1 gearing up for August shutdown

  • Published on 03 Aug 2012 15:48
  • comments 0
  • By: Danny Sosef
The recently-married Romain Grosjean knows exactly how he will be spending F1's long August shutdown. "I think it's time for a honeymoon," smiled Lotus' rookie Frenchman. But not everyone is quite as keen, even halfway through the most arduous F1 calendar in history which so far has featured eleven grands prix in the space of just four months.

After the whole month of August off, including a two-week strict factory shutdown for all the teams, the circus will reconvene for nine more grands prix squeezed into less than three months.

"Am I looking forward to the break? Yes," seven time world champion Michael Schumacher told Germany's Sport Bild. "Do I feel like I urgently need a vacation? Not necessarily," he explained.

Force India's Nico Hulkenberg agrees, insisting he is "absolutely not ready for a holiday". "I will visit friends in Germany," he said. "But four weeks? Two would have been enough."

Marussia's Timo Glock said he too would be happy to move straight on to Spa, "But I think for the mechanics it (the break) is very good."

Lewis Hamilton agrees: "The team is travelling non-stop and they work incredibly long hours away from their families.

"So it's an important time for them to go away and relax and refresh and get ready for the second half of the season which is going to be the most intense."

During the 14-day factory shutdown, even the teams' suppliers may not do any work for their F1 clients, while team members are forbidden even to access official email servers.

Some marketing and press is permissible, as is logistics work and the maintenance of factories and machines.

But surely it is almost possible to stop thousands of active formula one minds from ticking over? "It works on trust," Sauber team manager Beat Zehnder told Auto Motor und Sport when asked how the shutdown is policed.

Replies (0)

Login to reply

BE Grand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

BEGrand Prix of Belgium

Local time 

World Championship standings 2024

Show full world champion standings

Test calendar

See full test schedule

Related news

Give your opinion!

Will Bottas challenge Hamilton for the world championship in 2020?

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix
Circuit
-
Bahrain
29 - Mar 2
Bahrain
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia
22 - Mar 24
Australia
5 - Apr 7
Japan
19 - Apr 21
China
3 - May 5
United States of America
17 - May 19
Italy
24 - May 26
Monaco
7 - Jun 9
Canada
21 - Jun 23
Spain
28 - Jun 30
Austria
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom
19 - Jul 21
Hungary
26 - Jul 28
Belgium
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands
30 - Sep 1
Italy
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan
20 - Sep 22
Singapore
18 - Oct 20
United States of America
25 - Oct 27
Mexico
1 - Nov 3
Brazil
22 - Nov 24
United States of America
29 - Dec 1
Qatar
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates
See full schedule

Formula 1 Calendar - 2024

Date
Grand Prix & Circuit
29 - Mar 2
7 - Mar 9
Saudi Arabia Jeddah Street Circuit
22 - Mar 24
Australia Albert Park
5 - Apr 7
19 - Apr 21
3 - May 5
United States of America Miami International Autodrome
17 - May 19
24 - May 26
Monaco Monte Carlo
7 - Jun 9
21 - Jun 23
28 - Jun 30
Austria Red Bull Ring
5 - Jul 7
United Kingdom Silverstone
19 - Jul 21
Hungary Hungaroring
26 - Jul 28
23 - Aug 25
Netherlands Circuit Zandvoort
30 - Sep 1
Italy Monza
13 - Sep 15
Azerbaijan Baku City Circuit
20 - Sep 22
18 - Oct 20
United States of America Circuit of the Americas
25 - Oct 27
1 - Nov 3
Brazil Interlagos
22 - Nov 24
United States of America Las Vegas Street Circuit
29 - Dec 1
6 - Dec 8
United Arab Emirates Yas Marina Circuit
See full schedule

Driver profile

  • Team -
  • Points -
  • Podiums -
  • Grand Prix -
  • Country France
  • Date of b. Apr 17 1986 (37)
  • Place of b. Geneve, France
  • Weight 71 kg
  • Length 1.8 m
Show full profile

Team profile

Show full profile
show sidebar