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Steiner urges no more triple headers: They're tough on everyone

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner doesn't want to see more triple headers in Formula 1, saying they are tough on the mechanics and crews of the teams.

Haas team boss Guenther Steiner has urged Formula 1 not to introduce more triple headers to the sport, revealing that his crew aren't looking forward to the fact there are three triple headers still to come this season. France was followed by a double header in Austria, making up the first triple header of the season, and Steiner said it had been tough on his team. "Not really a lot. I mean, I must admit, I think they are now looking forward to get home," Steiner told the media, including RacingNews365 , after the Austrian Grand Prix when asked if they are looking forward to the next one. "As you can imagine after this one, and we actually discussed it, you know that another three are coming after summer break. That will be tough, you know, but we just need to keep our heads down and keep on going. It will be at the end of the season, we can say it was tough for everybody. But hopefully, everybody gets through and we do a good job." Steiner acknowledged the fact that the 2021 calendar is somewhat affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the resulting restrictions for travel that have added to the logistical problems of arranging a calendar, but said triple headers should not become the norm. "At the moment, we are still keeping on talking because of COVID, the calendar changes, so I wouldn't say there are reasons why this is the way it is," he said. "But we need to try to not have triple headers. I think more doubleheaders are better than one tripleheader, it is better to have consistent doubleheaders then four tripleheaders in a season. With tripleheader, some people are away a month until they get back home and, in that month, did three races which is also pretty stressful. "I'm sure FOM will look into it but, at the moment, it is COVID situation because one of these tripleheaders, like this one, was just thrown in because the calendar is a moving target." The first tripleheader was viewed as exhausting enough for the teams, even with two races taking place at the same venue and only a short hop across from Paul Ricard to the Red Bull Ring. For later triple headers, there are far greater travel distances required, with one particularly gruelling tripleheader in Russia, Turkey and Japan. "It will be tougher, that one will be a lot tougher because you have got the timezone changes in as well and, obviously, the jet lag which goes with it," Steiner explained. "Here on Monday, or last Monday it is now, everybody had the day off. I gave everybody the day off so they could do some activities around here because it's very good. But if you fly from one country to the other one, there is nothing. Your day off is spent on an aeroplane."

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