For years, the Formula 1 calendar has included a mandatory two-week summer holiday, when base doors are closed, employees go home and are not allowed to work or even respond to email.
Given the density of the next season’s calendar, a mandatory winter break has appeared in Formula 1 for the first time – from December 24 to January 2, any work is prohibited.
James Allison, Mercedes technical director, said: “This will be the first ever Christmas in Formula 1 where people can take a few days off without feeling guilty about missing a few days of work on the cars because a break is mandatory.
To be honest, not everyone on the team supports this. These mandatory breaks are imposed on us, making it impossible to go on holiday during the year. As a result, all employees are forced to take vacations at times of the year when this is quite expensive.
People whose role in the company does not require them to be present year-round may feel uncomfortable being told to take vacation on specific dates.
But for the team, for me, for the management, for everyone who constantly travels from race to race, this is a very welcome winter break.
It allows us to go home and not feel guilty about not opening the laptop or the phone and answering a gazillion emails and just relax a bit, so I’m looking forward to it.”
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
