Stefano Domenicali wants to revolutionise Formula 1’s weekend format, sparking a debate so fierce that world champion Max Verstappen has threatened to quit the sport over the issue.
The Formula 1 president said before the Australian Grand Prix that he is a “supporter of the cancellation of free practice sessions”, adding that practice was something the public “doesn’t like” and hinting at more sprint weekends in the future.
Domenicali then confirmed in an interview with Sky Sports F1 that he is not looking to completely abandon all practice sessions, but says it would be “wrong” not to consider changes to the existing format.
Sprint weekends were introduced in 2021, changing the format of some of the races by moving the qualifying event to Friday and giving fans a shorter race on Saturdays to decide the starting order for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
This trial was a success, leading to more sprint weekends in 2022 and 2023 – but could practice be the next part of the Formula 1 weekend to be tweaked?
“Of course, there needs to be the time for practice, but the people are coming to see performance and the more that you give the teams and drivers the chance to see who they are, the better it is for the show,” Domenicali told Sky Sports.
“It’s not because we don’t respect the traditions, we respect the old way of thinking of our weekend, but it would be wrong not to think about it.
“We also have a new generation that are coming in that are more aggressive in asking for something different.”
What are the proposed plans for sprint weekends?
Most F1 weekends see three practice sessions – two on Friday and a further one on Saturday morning – ahead of Qualifying and the traditional Sunday race.
It is understood that the preferred new format would involve just one practice session. There would then be two qualifying sessions, a sprint and a Grand Prix.
Broken down, this would see the following schedule play out:
PM – Qualifying for the Grand Prix on Sunday
AM – One-lap qualifying for the sprint race
A good old-fashioned Grand Prix
Could Verstappen walk away over F1 weekend changes?
While these plans are yet to be confirmed, the drivers have shared their opinions on the idea.
Incredibly, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has suggested he “won’t be around for too long” if more sprint races come into the F1 weekend.
“Even if you change the format, I don’t find that is in the DNA of Formula 1 to do these kind of sprint races,” he said.
“I hope there won’t be too many changes, otherwise I won’t be around for too long.
“I am not a fan of it at all. When we do all that kind of stuff, the weekend becomes very intense and we already do a lot of races. But it is not the right way to go about it.
“I understand that they want to have every day exciting, but then I think it’s better to just reduce the weekend – only race the Saturday and Sunday.
“And if you start adding even more stuff, it’s not worth it for me. I’m not enjoying that.”
Mercedes’ George Russell, who won the last sprint in Brazil last year, was on the side of the fans who felt there was too much practice.
“I don’t think it’s right that Formula 1 has three times the amount of practice that you have in F3 and F2,” said Russell.
However, Russell underlined his view that practice should not be scrapped altogether to ensure Formula 1’s technology remains at the cutting edge.
“No practice would be too little,” said Russell.
“This is still the pinnacle of the sport and you don’t want to be just left with the car that you created at the start of the year with no opportunity to try out new things.
“Whereas if you’re going straight into a session that is points-worthy or there is a reward, you’re less likely to trial new things [on the car].”
Russell’s Mercedes team-mate Sir Lewis Hamilton said it was “cool” that F1 were experimenting with the weekend format, but called on the sport to find alternatives for unusual circuits like Monaco, where sprints may not be the solution.
“There’s definitely places where it’s not going to be good,” said the seven-time world champion.
“But I think we can be more dynamic and look at places like Monaco – perhaps there is a different solution to make it more engaging for fans.
“We can use sprint races in some places, perhaps there’s something else we can do?
“I like the format from the sprint weekend where you have that one practice session – there’s a lot of pressure just to get that right and then you’re straight into qualifying.
AlphaTauri’s Nyck de Vries gave his perspective as a rookie that one practice session would be enough.
“I think in all junior series we’ve been used to actually only doing one free practice session so I think we could do with less,” said the Dutchman.
Brundle: I don’t know why we are messing around
Sky Sports F1’s Martin Brundle is not convinced by the proposed changes, saying: “I like the format we have got.
“I don’t know why we are already messing around with the sprint concept if I am honest. I don’t see why it needs to be standalone.
“The teams and the drivers love certainty. Then the fans want to sit down and watch uncertainty, which they certainly had in Melbourne.
“The whole purpose of the Sprint race, and it has worked on a number of occasions already, was to maybe just spice up the actual race day grid a little bit.”
Brundle was speaking on the Monday that followed a dramatic Australian Grand Prix, eventually won by Verstappen.
Despite the Dutchman’s comments against proposed changes, Brundle doubts the double world champion would walk away from F1 as a consequence.
“I would be surprised, but if he doesn’t want to drive it there are a million other people who would want to drive that Red Bull,” he said.
“I think what he is trying to say is ‘don’t mess around too much’. Let’s evolve and massage this along, don’t go changing the ground rules.
“I get his point on that, but I don’t really see why that would make him stop.”
Not listening to fans ‘a mistake’
We asked you, the fans, on Twitter whether three practice sessions in Formula 1 was too much, and the answer was ‘no’ – but only just.
56.2 per cent of voters were satisfied with the current format, meaning almost half of the fans who voted felt there are too many practice sessions currently.
Given how the close results were, it is natural that practice is on the table for discussion.
There was no doubting Domenicali’s focus on understanding what the fans want as he makes decisions on F1 moving forward.
“The sport is evolving because of the nature of the attention the fans want to keep,” explained the former Ferrari team principal.
“If we don’t realise that, it’s a mistake.
“That’s why we need to be on the footsteps of what the fans want – we need to remember that we’re here because the fans love us.”
What’s next?
Due to the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix, there is now a four-week break until the 2023 Formula 1 season resumes with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix at Baku’s stunning street circuit.
The action is all live on Sky Sports F1 from April 28-30, with Sunday’s race at 12pm.
Between now and then, we will be bringing you all the latest F1 news via the Sky Sports app and website.
This content was originally published here.
