Italian manager Stefano Domenicali, currently the president of Formula 1, believes that should be awarded for the performance from the Friday practice sessions, while these results should then be taken into consideration for a qualifying structure on Saturday morning with a reverse grid race.
The current CEO of the Formula One Group made the suggestion during a wider discussion regarding the changes that could be made to the Formula 1 race weekend format in order to bring more excitement for Friday and Saturday, ahead of Sunday’s main event.
Formula 1 has been testing the Sprint Race system, with three races taking place based on this format during the 2022 Formula 1 season. Asked to comment on the proposed changes, Stefano Domenicali explained for Italy’s Corriere Della Serra:
“Because you have to try, there are always plenty of excuses not to do so. It is a principle of life. The purists always turn up their noses, but F1 has changed the way of qualifying dozens of times over the years. It’s a requirement that cannot be postponed. I would like to see us always fighting for something that [has] worth [in] the title. We will address this issue in the next F1 Commission: the fans, the organisers, everyone wants that. The sprint race was just the first example, which can be improved.” – the former Ferrari boss said.
One of the major issues with the Sprint Race format is the fact that the second free practice session, that is moved to Saturday morning, basically becomes a largely benign affair where F1 teams are focused only on gathering data for the tyres. However, the F1 CEO feels that there should be two free practice sessions on a Friday that could be reworded with championship points, which would increase the competitiveness of the sessions and would lead to a spectacle during the entire race weekend.
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“In a normal weekend, consisting of free practice one and two on Friday, each session should put up for grabs either points, or single qualifying lap – qualifying for a different, shorter Saturday race, instead of the third free practice, perhaps with the reverse grid mechanism. We are putting a lot of things on the table. A lot of people say no, but we have seen on some occasions the beauty [of mixed grids], more overtaking. We have an obligation to try.” – the Formula 1 chief executive officer concluded, as reported by the Italian media.
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