Even more races, even more action, even more spectators, even higher sales: the understandable wish of the Formula 1 bosses is not always well received in the paddock. As one of the most important voices in the premier class, Max Verstappen was also critical. F1 boss Stefano Domenicali has therefore now rowed back. But that’s only half.
Formula 1 is considering how it can make the sport even more interesting and attractive for fans and more profitable for itself. Stefano Domenicali expressed an idea a few days ago: The Italian wants to cancel the training sessions, which are not very attractive for spectators, and instead have more sprint races including qualification.
This suggestion immediately triggered a violent reaction from Max Verstappen. The Dutchman has resisted any more races, stating that if that plan actually materializes, he won’t be staying in Formula 1 much longer. Possibly also because of this threat, Domenicali rowed back a bit towards “Sky Sports”.
“Of course there has to be more time for training,” emphasized the 57-year-old. At the same time, according to the Italian, “the fans come to see performance. The more often you give the drivers and teams the opportunity to show themselves, the better it is for the show”.
It’s not about trampling on the tradition of Formula 1. “We respect the old approach to the weekend,” assured Domenicali. “But it would be wrong not to do that [neue Pläne] to think about.” There is now a new generation that is more aggressive “and asks for something else,” said the Italian.
Verstappen criticizes Formula 1 sprints
The recently announced plans for the premier class stipulate that there will only be one free practice session. The other two practice sessions are set to be replaced with a sprint race and qualifying for Sunday’s race. At the moment the starting grid for the main race is still determined by the finish of the sprint.
He made it clear in Melbourne that Verstappen doesn’t believe in this idea when he said: “Sprint racing is all about survival, it’s not racing. If you have a fast car, there’s no reason to do anything in the sprint I’d rather bring the car safely to the pits so I can attack on Sunday.”
