The popularity of F1 has skyrocketed thanks to multiple factors. However, this tremendous rise in popularity is coming with a cost. Not necessarily monetary, albeit there are monetary costs attached as well, the popularity rise will cost everyone involved physically as well. Races alone take a huge toll on the drivers already. However, the record 23-race 2023 calendar will cost everyone involved in the circus heavily. As a report predicts, the exorbitant 23-race calendar will have a negative physical impact on the entire sport.

After analyzing the CO2 emissions by F1 in 2019, the sport proposed an initiative that promised an ambitious net zero carbon emission by 2030. However, in the upcoming season, the circus will race in 23 locations around the globe. The problem lies in the way the 23 races are scheduled. A visual representation of the race destination made by The Flying Lap Pod tweeted by Vincenzo Landino gives one an idea of the unsustainability. However, it’s the numbers behind the travel for the 2023 calendar are astonishing.

According to a report by Avant Ivy, with the Chinese GP included, the circus will cover 83,000 miles. To put things in perspective, the equatorial circumference of Earth is 24,901 miles. With 83,000 miles, the circus would take 3.3 trips around the globe from March to November. No one is impervious to such extensive travel in such short durations. Not the world-class athletes and definitely not the support staff that travel with them. The jet lag plus the strenuous travel could have serious health and safety implications.

Apart from the general fatigue from the prolonged travel, the staff and the drivers involved can be troubled by one unavoidable condition: jetlag. A study by NCBI from 2012 points out exactly how serious jetlag can become over a prolonged period.

“Prolonged trans-meridian air travel can impart a physical and emotional burden on athletes in jet lag and travel fatigue.” Additionally, the review also determined that jetlag was “associated with impaired daytime function and general malaise and may include other somatic complaints.”

The study also reported that the body needs one day to realign its circadian clock for each time zone crossed. Putting things into perspective, if a crew flies from London to Las Vegas, they’re crossing nine time zones. Imagine the entire F1 ecosystem repeating this process 23 times in nine months.

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This continuous and rigorous stress is making even the fans speak out against the unsustainable calendar.

Fans react to the unsustainable 2023 calendar

The calendar is unjust to all people associated with the sport, to say the least. The governing body of the sport, the FIA, and the sport has already based massive backlash for the poorly planned calendar. However, after the disastrous 2023 calendar, the fans want better from the sport in 2024.

In fact, a suggestion of a regionally scheduled calendar is making its rounds and looks like the way to go. Despite the future talks, let’s look at some of the reactions from the fans on Twitter.

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The fans are pointing out the one aim that Formula 1 set out to achieve: net zero carbon emissions. With such a poorly planned calendar, there is no way the sport will ever achieve its aim.

The fans are calling the 2023 calendar absolutely absurd and rightly so. The fans have questioned the sustainability factor with such a calendar in mind.

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There is now Formula 1 will achieve its environmental goals with such poor logistical planning. Moreover, the overall well-being of all the people involved might become an additional concern after the 2023 season.

The 2023 season should be an interesting one!