More Sprint races could be added to the F1 calendar, argues Stefano Domenicali.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali believes that adding more Sprint races to the calendar is a realistic proposition for the future. The last few years have seen an increase in the Sprint weekends hosted throughout the season. Increased viewership on Fridays has motivated FOM (Formula One Management) to persist with this format. Moreover, there are already considerations for making Sprints even more frequent.
The Chinese GP was the first of six Sprint events in 2024. The Shanghai circuit generally provided good racing – although many would attribute this to track layout above anything else. In terms of the Sprint Race itself, Max Verstappen claimed another dominant win – although a late battle between Alonso, Sainz and Leclerc provided some drama.
Generally speaking, the objective of this format is to increase the stakes. Rather than participating in three free practice sessions, teams and drivers are thrown into the deep end.
Critics of Sprint races argue that – fundamentally – their presence diminishes the uniqueness of the main race. Moreover, the roughly 25-minute Sprints have generally failed to produce any noteworthy highlights.
Meanwhile, Lando Norris is among many drivers to raise concerns about the F1 schedule. For team personnel already coping with a record-breaking calendar, adding more intense sessions is arguably something that cannot be sustained.
Domenicali open to more Sprint races
However, Stefano Domenicali sees things differently:
“We need to make sure there is action every day, so the fans come and have fun,” he told Sky Sports.
“Why not? [have more sprint races] I would say that would be great because it’s exciting every day – so we’ll look at that in the future.
“Let’s first see how sprints work this year. But I will definitely discuss the issue with the F1 Commission as quickly as possible.”
Ultimately, the F1 CEO has shown consistent enthusiasm for Sprint weekends. Therefore, it seems likely that Domenicali will push to include more of them every season.
However, for this to happen, drivers’ and teams’ approval will be necessary. As it stands, there is still some resistance to having more than six Sprint weekends in F1.
