Aston Martin ambassador admits F1 team ‘are all scared’ of one thing for 2024

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Aston Matin brand ambassador Pedro de la Rosa has admitted that the Silverstone team are ‘all scared’ of Formula 1 embarking on a record 24-race calendar in 2024.

This year sees the travelling circus of F1 hit the track more often than ever before with races in China and Emilia Romagna back on the schedule. Formula 1 has not visited Shanghai since the Covid-19 pandemic. Heavy flooding in Italy also meant F1 did not visit Imola last season.

F1 strived to return to China in 2021, 2022 and 2023 but ongoing restrictions in the country forced it to cancel the Grand Prix each time. But plans to race at the Shanghai International Circuit for the first time since 2019 remain in place. Liberty Media see China as a key market.

F1 will return to China and Emilia Romagna in a record 24-race calendar

There are no new Grand Prix on the 2024 calendar but F1 has scheduled the first two rounds as Saturday races. Bahrain GP organisers agreed to move their season-opening race forward by one day to let F1 arrange the Saudi Arabian GP on a Saturday to accommodate Ramadan.

F1 has also moved a number of races around its schedule to better manage the calendar for travel requirements. The Japanese GP, for example, has moved from a traditional September slot to early April. While the Azerbaijan GP has gained the Suzuka event’s previous time slot.

Aston Martin fear 24 Grand Prix and six Sprint events in the 2024 season

Teams have had since last July to finalise their plans for the 2024 F1 season but a record 24-race calendar still concerns Aston Martin. It is the same number of events that F1 intended to contest in 2023. Yet the movement of races for 2024 demanded fresh logistical challenges.

Aston Martin ambassador De la Rosa also believes it is ‘very important’ that his Silverstone team gives Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll a chance to start 2024 strongly. Alonso burst out of the gates in 2023 with six podium finishes through the first eight rounds of the year.

De la Rosa told Cadena SER: “The important thing is that the team concentrates and gives a good car to Lance and Alonso. The first half of the season is very important. [But] we are all scared of the 24 races.”

Aston Martin have reason to be ‘scared’ of a 24-race calendar given how the 2023 F1 season developed for Alonso and Stroll. Despite the Spaniard starting the year with three successive third places, they fell backwards in the development race to Mercedes, Ferrari and McLaren.

The Silverstone squad were only 13 points behind the Silver Arrows for second place in the constructors’ table through eight rounds. But Aston Martin only scored 126 points over the next 14 rounds to Mercedes’ 242. Alonso and Stroll’s results could only get them fifth place.