21-race calendar 'not feasible' for F1 teams

F1 is pushing teams beyond breaking point by expanding the calendar to an unprecedented 21 races in 2016, says Mercedes boss Toto Wolff.

That is the warning of Toto Wolff, who said that although Mercedes once again dominated this year, the 19-race calendar pushed some team members to the brink.

Wolff said: "We have already seen that 19 races is pushing the physical and mental limits."

'No longer possible'

So Wolff said adding another two grands prix next year - the debut of the race in Azerbaijan, and Germany's return to the calendar - is simply too much.

"It is no longer possible in my opinion. This is simply no longer feasible."

The previous maximum number of races allowed under the provisions of the Concorde Agreement - 20 - was raised to 21 by a vote at the recent World Motor Sport Council.

Wolff said: "This is a complex issue.  Maybe we need to introduce a second layer (of staff) in order to give our people some more recovery time.

"We want to get the maximum performance from the team, and that does not happen if they are working 365 days a year."