Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz now in agreement with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen on needed F1 change

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Ferrari star Carlos Sainz is now in agreement with Red Bull pair Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez about one change Formula 1 needs after the troublesome Las Vegas GP.

F1 returned to Nevada for the first time in 41 years this November for its maiden race on the Strip. But Sainz now echoes Verstappen and Perez’s frustration about how F1 scheduled the Las Vegas GP. It acted as the first of a season-ending double-header with the Abu Dhabi GP.

Yet flying across the globe dealt the F1 paddock a 12-hour time shift as they left the USA for the UAE. Formula 1’s teams and drivers also had to work to an awkward schedule in Nevada with the Las Vegas GP a Saturday 22:00 night race for a Sunday 06:00 start time in the UK.

Carlos Sainz urges F1 to change its calendar after the Las Vegas GP timing issues

The 2024 schedule does not make for much more enjoyable reading, either. F1 has planned a season-ending triple-header for it’s record-breaking 24-race calendar. The Las Vegas GP is the first of the streak before Formula 1 heads to Qatar and Abu Dhabi to round off the year.

It is barely an improvement on 2023 with Qatar 11 hours ahead of Nevada compared to the 12 of Abu Dhabi. So, Ferrari driver Sainz has now urged Formula 1 to consider changes to its calendars in the future and prevent creating the same time zone issues for the Las Vegas GP.

“I don’t know if you can say, ‘You’re going to die because of your own success’. But I think Formula 1 has to adapt as we head towards 24 races,” Sainz shared, via Motorsport-Total.

“Then we have to see how we manage the weekends, the travel and we can make calendars as compatible as possible.”

He added: “We can’t then travel from Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi within four days and accept a time difference of 12 hours. Because we have to make sure that everyone involved reaches the end of the season safe and healthy.”

Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez questioned the Las Vegas to Abu Dhabi double-header

Sainz is the latest Formula 1 driver to seek changes to the calendar following a troublesome debut Las Vegas GP. Red Bull driver Perez immediately called for the series to modify future calendars following the race in Nevada given the long journey the teams faced to Abu Dhabi.

“We have to go now to Abu Dhabi, probably the longest distance that we have to travel in the whole year,” Perez said, via RacingNews365, in November. “We need to look at it and probably make Vegas the final race.”

Both Red Bull drivers, in fact, questioned F1 for scheduling the 2023 Las Vegas GP and Abu Dhabi GP as back-to-back races. Three-time Formula 1 champion Verstappen said that the series must explore changing its future calendars as the schedule this year was ‘a bit much’.

“For next year, maybe it is not possible,” he said, also via quotes by RacingNews365. “But to make it a bit better travelling to Abu Dhabi. At the moment, it is such a big time shift, especially at the end of the season when everyone is already a bit tired.

“I think it is a little bit much… Maybe we can find a bit of a solution. 12-hour time-zone shifts and completely different timings for racing is a bit much.”