Hill expecting drivers to race ‘flat out’ in shortened season

Damon Hill says Formula 1’s shortened season will likely push drivers to race “flat out” at every round rather than occasionally play it safe and target consistency.

Formula 1 has so far confirmed an opening stretch of eight European races that will start in Austria in two weeks and run until early September at Monza.

The sport’s chiefs are working hard to add additional European dates and a number of fly-away events to reach a minimum schedule this year of 15 races.

But that would still represent a significantly shortened season compared to F1’s original 22-race campaign.

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“This year’s championship is going to be curious because if they have a reduced number of races, it’s going to be flat out every race,” said Hill, speaking in an Autosport ‘Race of my Life’ podcast.

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“You’re not going to get a chance to see whether or not there’s a trend through the season, there’s not going to be any development.

“So I think it’s going to be quite an unusual kind of championship, this one.”

Drivers pushing from the outset to maximise every opportunity could lead to greater risk-taking up and down the field. But mistakes will be costly insists Valtteri Bottas.

“It’s obviously going to be a pretty special season, because it’s going to be shorter than the planned amount of races,” the Mercedes driver told Sky Sports F1.

“Every mistake will cost you much more than previously, and it’s all about the consistency.”