27/03/2023
NEWS STORY
F1 boss, Stefano Domenicali has reiterated his desire to see less practice sessions over Grand Prix race weekends.
Attending the opening round of the 2023 MotoGP season, the Italian told SportTV: "I am a supporter of the cancellation of free practice sessions, which are of great use to the engineers but that the public doesn't like."
Of course, this isn't the first time he has said this, having commented last year that he would either like to see free practice sessions scrapped entirely or given meaning by awarding points.
Naturally, most fans greeted his comments with horror.
Sadly, Domenicali, like Ross Brawn, has not only taken the Liberty Media shilling, he has willingly swallowed it.
Had such a suggestion been made when either were working with F1 teams they would have fought such a move tooth and nail, indeed even as young kids attending their first races they would have been aghast at such a proposal.
But now every dumb idea that F1’s 'creatives' come up with is greeted by the likes of Domenicali, Brawn and Pat Symonds – seasoned F1 men – with the sort of "great", "super" enthusiasm previously reserved for CJ in the iconic Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin.
First off, with little testing of any worth, this year's programme was reduced to three days, teams need all the on-track running they can get.
Yes, free practice does allow teams to test updates, while also getting prepared for the weekend ahead, but with Red Bull and Max Verstappen threatening to run away with the titles surely it is in everyone's interest for rivals to at least try and catch-up, the limitations of the budget cap aside.
Then there's the question of up and coming drivers who need the Friday session to gain and experience and hopefully attract the attention of potential employers.
And of course, let's not forget the fans who want to see as much running as possible, and are paying through the nose for the privilege.
As an aside, and no doubt a portent of what's heading down the line, the much-hyped Las Vegas Grand Prix will not feature any support races of any kind.
Furthermore, fans who sought to get hold of $500 GA (general tickets) when they went on sale recently were to be disappointed, many claiming that none were actually available, and were instead directed to the next tier, at $2,000 a pop.
Speaking last year, Domenicali raised the prospect of giving the free practice session more meaning by awarding points, while there is even talk of revising the entire weekend format so that Friday is given over to practice and qualifying for Sunday's race, while Saturday features a stand-alone championship comprising qualifying in the morning and a Sprint in the afternoon.
You've seen how Liberty envisages the future, Hot Wheels or Scalextric tracks in the middle of darkened cities, cities that in all honesty could be anywhere on planet.
F1 made a shrewd move by getting a world championship going in 2020 - then again it had to or else the sport could have gone bust.
Meanwhile, lockdown ensured that there was a captive audience for Drive to Survive which up until then had enjoyed limited success on Netflix.
Have at least one driver gurning at every opportunity, another pouting, a team principal with Tourettes another couple who clearly hate one another, and, as Christian Horner so aptly described it, you have the "Kardashians on Wheels".
Aided and abetted by the likes of Brawn and Domenicali, Liberty is taking F1 down a road from which there will be no return.
Continue to tinker with the sport at your peril.