Formula 1 CEO warns "young fans don't like days with only free practice days"

Sprint, the announcement from early December
In an effort to create more excitement on certain race weekends, Formula 1 decided in 2021 to introduce Sprint races to its calendar. The leaders of the category selected some Grand Prix events to host – in addition to the traditional Sunday race – a mini Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon, covering 100 km.

This way, Formula 1 aimed to generate more spectacle and attract those audience segments – the youth – accustomed to less prolonged attention on a single sporting event. In early December, it was announced that six circuits would host the Sprint races:

Stefano Domenicali is pleased with the Sprints
Stefano Domenicali, the president of Formula 1, a guest on ‘La politica nel pallone’ on Radio 1, explained that the philosophy behind Sprints is yielding excellent results: “The data shows that there is interest. The concept of days dedicated exclusively to free practice does not provide the sports and entertainment spark that seems to please the younger audience. Not surprisingly, many sports are changing; take the NBA and baseball, everyone needs to pay attention to what is happening in the world. We were among the first, and we must maintain this proactive approach in the interest of our followers.” – the Italian manager pointed out.

In this perspective, possible changes to the current Sprint format are being considered, as there is talk of moving them to Saturday morning, and Stefano Domenicali has not denied this: “In the schedule, we stick with six Sprint races. We have a meeting in early February where we are thinking about some operational changes related to the management of the closed park and perhaps a different format. I can’t anticipate anything, not because I don’t want to, but because we need to reach an agreement first, sign, and then move forward.” – the former Scuderia Ferrari team principal concluded.

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