Formula 1 is actively looking into doubling the number of sprint races from six to 12 per year from 2027, and is investigating other format changes to regular weekends.
F1’s commercial rightsholder Liberty Media has been keen to expand the number of sprint races for a while as it has found they lead to more interest from fans, broadcasters and race promoters, even if they place a bigger burden on the drivers and teams.
The biggest driver behind FOM’s sprint race push is a desire to offer spectators meaningful on-track action on all three days, so even on regular race weekends Domenicali is keen to see how F1 can shake up the format to add a competitive element on Friday rather than the usual two free practice sessions.
“The reason why we started to discuss the number of sprints and maybe some different format is because of the feedback we received from the fans, the promoters, that people want to see real action during the three days, so already on Friday people want to see something sporting – qualifying or whatever it is,” Domenicali said at pre-season testing in Bahrain.
“Even if it is not a sprint weekend, there is a trend of [wanting to have] something different. We’re thinking to keep every day we are on track relevant.”
FOM is aware adding competitive elements on Friday would pose a problem for inexperienced rookie drivers, so one of the ideas is to allow them additional practice time.
“I don’t mind having longer free practice time or to have sessions for them to be allowed to run, because it is clear on a sprint weekend that you don’t have much time to run if you are a rookie,” he added. “That is a point we are addressing, and we will present shortly something real in this respect.”
Istanbul Park briefly returned to the F1 calendar in 2020 and 2021 as a stop-gap solution during the COVID-19 pandemic
Photo by: Mark Sutton / Motorsport Images
“Stay tuned” on Turkish GP
Domenicali has also addressed the prospect of new races being added to the calendar. F1 has committed to sticking to the current number of 24 rounds per year and has made room to add events in key markets like South East Asia or a long-overdue return to Africa.
But following protracted talks in Rwanda, Thailand and South Korea, it has become clear that any new overseas additions are unlikely to materialise before 2029.
That could provide an opportunity for European circuits to either keep their existing slot or return to the calendar, with F1 announcing earlier this week that Barcelona will continue hosting a race in even years, alternating with Belgium.
When asked by Autosport if delays elsewhere meant F1 would add more short-term races in Europe to fill the gap, such as the recently announced return of the Portuguese Grand Prix, Domenicali said: “Yes, I think so, in terms of what you said about the big countries. For sure, if this will be the case it will not be in the short term, because the need of building something from zero requires the right time.
“I would say these things can happen [from] 2029, because we have other expirations of contracts, so there is an evolving situation.
“It’s very positive because we have a quality problem where we can make a decision on where we want to go. We need to find the right decision, because we don’t want to expand the number [of races]. So we need to work on it, but I don’t see this happening before 2029.”
One race that does seem on the verge of returning to the calendar is Turkey, with organisers at Istanbul Park adamant a deal is close. Domenicali said a Turkish Grand Prix deal was not done yet, but he did point out recent additions to the calendar were addressing criticism that F1 is skewing too heavily towards street circuits.
“Turkey is not 100% confirmed. Stay tuned on Turkey, let me put it this way,” the Italian said. “And this is also to answer to the people that were saying there were too many street races. The new ones that are coming are [permanent] tracks and not street races.
“As I said, stay tuned on Turkey, but Portugal is definitely there [at Portimao], Madrid is a semi-permanent track that is working to be ready this year. Other alternations are possible in the future, but we want to stick with the number [of 24 races].”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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