Vettel: Run of triple headers not behind chaotic F1 races

Sebastian Vettel does not believe a relentless run of races in the 2020 Formula 1 season has had any impact on the number of accidents seen in the last two rounds.

F1 has just completed nine races in the space of 11 weeks - consisting of three triple-header events – in order to get its delayed 2020 season off the ground and hit the required number of races needed to validate a world championship campaign following the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Major incidents resulted in this year’s Italian and Tuscan Grands Prix both being suspended, marking the first time since 2011 that back-to-back races have been stopped. Since the start of the V6 hybrid era in 2014, just eight of the 130 races have been red flagged.

F1’s first-ever competitive visit to Mugello proved to be a dramatic, incident-filled affair as the race was halted on two occasions for separate crashes.

Despite a rise in accidents across the past two events, Vettel, who himself was caught up in the opening lap melee in Mugello as he tangled with McLaren's Carlos Sainz, has dismissed the notion that fatigue at the end of a long stretch of races has played a role in the increase in drama.

“I think it’s certainly tough, but I think the chances to have a red flag and various red flags in a race is generally quite low, so I don’t think it’s due to that,” the four-time world champion said.

“Obviously, it was absolutely right to call for the red flag after Charles crashed last week, and again here, so there was no other choice - I think in both cases it was the right action.

“I think everybody is on the limit and performing on the limit, trying to do everything, but I don’t think the crashes or the red flags are a consequence of the fact that we have triple-header, triple-header, triple-header.”

The remainder of the revised 2020 calendar is more evenly spaced out, with the final seven races taking place across a three-month period.

Races in Russia, Germany and Turkey are standalone events, with only one back-to-back (Portugal and Imola) and one triple-header (Bahrain, Bahrain, Abu Dhabi) left to complete.