The possible extension of the Formula 1 calendar into December to try and help accommodate the return of the Bahrain Grand Prix has been labeled a step too far by Mercedes GP boss Ross Brawn.
Bernie Ecclestone is looking at the possibility of moving the Indian GP to Dec. 4 so that the Bahrain GP can be held on Oct. 30. Although no final decision on that matter has been taken, with the FIA due to make a decision on June 3, Brawn fears the implications on his staff of stretching the season into December.
"I think as a team principal who works and has to look after the group of people we have, you have to remember they have been going since the end of January," explained Brawn. "We don't have testing anymore, so these guys have been very, very busy since the end of January, and I think to take them through to December and then get them going again at the end of January, we won't sustain it. We won't keep the people – they will get fed up, their families will get fed up and it will all prove to be too much.
"We could make a step to have two teams, like they do in NASCAR or other series, but with the RRA [Resource Restriction Agreement] we are restricted about the number of people we can have, so we cannot structure our organization with two separate race teams."
He added: "I think we have to think about it very carefully because we are reaching a limit on what we can subject our people to. They have been going at it since the end of January as previously winter testing was handled by the test team. We don't have that option anymore – the race team has to do that. So, to tell them to carry on through to December and then they can have a few weeks off over Christmas and it starts again, is not going to be sustainable."