'One-third of the calendar': F1 chief Stefano Domenicali on his ideal number of sprint weekends as new format termed a success

F1 CEO Stefano Dominicali wants at least one-third of the race calendar to have sprint shootouts and races. As the sport gradually begins to move away from the traditional race weekend format, Domenicali is trying to increase the number of sprint race weekends on the calendar.

On a call with Wall Street analysts, he spoke about how instead of having a sprint race on all race weekends throughout the year, he wants at least one-third of the season filled with them. For example, if there are 24 races in a season, Domenicali proposes that eight of them have sprint race formats. He said:

“We don't want to go in a situation where in the future we are going to have all the races with the sprint format. We want to keep a limited number of maybe one-third of the calendar in number, and create something special with regard to the competition that we can give a sporting value with trophies and of course, commercial opportunity to these things. I think that's the right way to go.”

Furthermore, he explained how many other globally popular sports are consistently evolving with time and why F1 should do the same. He gave examples of baseball and the NBA introducing new formats to their seasons and matches, saying:

“I see a big trend today in all sports not to be stable, let's say, not to stay consistent with the old regulation. So, we're just following what baseball did and just following what the NBA has done. That means that all the professional sports need to listen to the requests and to the new input that the fans, promoters and partners are asking to have more excitement around the game."

In conclusion, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali is focused on further promoting the sprint race format and increasing its frequency in the season calendar.

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Nyck de Vries supports new F1 sprint race weekend format

AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries recently spoke in support of the new sprint race weekend format introduced by F1 in Baku. He explained how he does not need more than two practice sessions and how it provides more entertainment to the fans. In an interview with De Telegraaf, he said:

“I'm looking forward to it, and I'm in favour of the concept, to make it part of the season at least a few times a year. During a normal weekend, I think three free practice sessions are a bit excessive anyway; two seems more than enough to me.”

Unfortunately, the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP was one of the rookie's worst races. De Vries crashed in both the main qualifying session and the main race. However, he was able to keep himself away from the walls during Saturday's sprint race.