Former AlphaTauri and Toro Rosso team principal Franz Tost said it’s a “complete joke” to call F1 mechanics “overworked”, given the change in workload.

The Formula 1 calendar has expanded to a record 24 races for the past two seasons, but Tost explained how he has been a proponent of an expanded calendar for some time – and the schedule used to be filled in different ways.

Franz Tost: F1 mechanics ‘not overworked at all’ in 24-race calendar

Tost stepped away from the Formula 1 paddock at the end of 2023, having been the long-serving team boss of Red Bull’s sister team since 2006.

That season saw an 18-race calendar, though this has now expanded as Formula 1 surges in popularity around the world.

Multiple team principals and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali have spoken about a 24-race schedule being the upper limit for the calendar, with logistics and workload being stretched as international travel increases.

But given the significant cut in in-season testing in that time, the former Toro Rosso and AlphaTauri team principal believes complaints of being ‘overworked’ don’t have basis, dismissing them in no uncertain terms.

“I think 24 races is totally fine,” Tost told a Sport Marke Medien panel, as quoted by German publication Motorsport-Total.

“People always say that the mechanics are overworked. That’s a complete joke. They’re not overworked at all.

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“[Beforehand] we had the race at the weekend, and we tested on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. In the beginning, we even had two cars. And it was always the same technicians and engineers. I never heard a complaint from them back then.

“Now there’s a curfew in Formula 1, which means it’s over at 9pm in the evening. Until 8am the next morning. Jesus, what more do they want?

“They’re allowed to work in Formula 1, that’s a privilege. All this work-life balance, all this s***, it’s totally pointless. You don’t need something like that. It’s something for people who are too lazy to work.”

The current Concorde Agreement allows for up to 25 races on the calendar, but Tost believes there could be scope for more, given the commercial appeal of Formula 1 – explaining his long-held position in that regard.

“You have to do as many races as possible,” he said.

“It could be up to 26. The year has 52 weeks. Every second week would make sense. And I’m not saying that now because I’m retired. I’ve always said that before.”

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