Szafnauer hopes F1 learns from triple-header 'debacle'

Force India chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer hopes Formula 1 will learn from the "debacle" of putting a triple-header on the 2018 calendar and avoid scheduling races so closely together in the future due to the additional pressure it places on smaller teams.

This weekend's French Grand Prix marks the first of three races in three consecutive weekends, with five rounds set to take place in the coming six weeks ahead of the summer break.

It is the first time F1 has placed a triple-header on the calendar, with officials claiming they had no choice due to the return of France to the schedule and the need to avoid a race on the July 14-15 weekend when the FIFA World Cup final is set to take place.

Szafnauer explained how the idea was not discussed with smaller operations such as Force India, which are unable to rotate staff or rely on additional manpower that many of the bigger outfits boast.

"It wasn’t discussed, but it should be in the future," Szafnauer said. "When decision like that are made, you should get advice from a mid-grid team, a top team, a small team, a big team, and then make a good decision based on all the information - not just one person’s view.

"We’re not rotating. We don’t have the staff. Some other teams have a lot of guys back at base rebuilding cars, or maybe some teams still have like demonstration teams. All those guys can help. We have none of that."

Asked by Crash.net if he was concerned the triple-header could set a dangerous precedent for the future, Szafnauer stressed that it should be avoided in order to ease pressure on teams.

"I would hope we would learn from this debacle and not do it again, as opposed to following a bad precedent just because it’s precedent," Szafnauer said.

"If it’s not good, you shouldn’t do it. It doesn’t matter what precedent."

However, Szafnauer did concede that a flyaway triple-header would be easier to manage and deal with than a European one where teams have to drive their cargo between races.

"I think it’s easier, a fly triple-header than a roadie triple-header, because on Sunday night when everything’s packed up, you’re done," Szafnauer said.

"You wait for the freight to get to the other place, and you start again. Somebody else has that inbetween headache, not us, so it might be easier."