Formula 1s weekend format Drivers fans and Martin Brundle debate Stefano Domenicalis plans

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and F1 president Stefano Domenicali have different views over the sport’s format

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.

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Formula 1 chief Stefano Domenicali discusses the possibility of scrapping practice

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:

Friday:

AM – Practice

PM – Qualifying for the Grand Prix on Sunday

Saturday:

AM – One-lap qualifying for the sprint race

PM – Sprint

Sunday:

A good old-fashioned Grand Prix

Could Verstappen walk away over F1 weekend changes?

Max Verstappen has suggested he could walk away from Formula 1 if the weekend format continues to intensify

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.”

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