Formula One Management‘s Managing Director of Motorsports Ross Brawn has said that the triple header that will be seen in the 2018 Formula 1 season is an “emergency measure” and will not become a consistent fixture in the calendar.
The returning French Grand Prix joins the Austrian and British races on consecutive weekends in late June and early July, before a two week break leads to the German event.
Having been criticised heavily for the effects on the teams, Brawn said that extraneous circumstances forced the decision – the FIFA World Cup Final falls on the afternoon of 15 July, posing a huge threat on potential viewing figures and international interest.
Speaking to Sky Germany, the former Scuderia Ferrari supremo said: “The World Cup presented us with a very unusual problem.”
“The final is in the afternoon and it would have been very unfair to have run a race on that weekend.”
Brawn added that the triple header was the only solution and will not be repeated in normal circumstances.
“We could only solve that by having three races in a row but it’s not something we want to repeat in the future.”
“It was an emergency measure.”
