23/05/2023
NEWS STORY
F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali has urged drivers to think of the bigger picture following recent criticism of the Sprint format.
One particular critic of the Sprint is Max Verstappen, who admitted following the first Sprint of the season: "I'm not a fan of it at all," in reaction to the revised format which sees qualifying for the Sprint and the 'mini-race itself held as stand-alone events on Saturdays.
"I think when we're going to do all that kind of stuff, the weekend becomes even more intense," added the Dutchman, "and we're already doing so many races, so I think that is not the right way to go at it.
"We're heading into seasons where you have at one point 24, 25 races, because that's where we're going to head into. If we then start adding even more stuff, it's not worth it for me anyway. I'm not enjoying that."
This season sees the number of Sprints increased to 6, with F1 bosses understood to want this increased so that at least a third of the events on the calendar feature the races.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Domenicali was critical of some of the comments made about the Sprint, calling on drivers to look at the bigger picture.
"I don't want a society in which people cannot say what they want," he insisted. "But drivers sometimes need to remember that they are part of a broader picture. We don't need to be selfish.
"They are part of this sport and this business, and it grows because we are thinking bigger," he added. "Sometimes being out of our comfort zone is not easy, but we cannot be lazy or complacent.
"We can review some of the specifics of the sprint weekend format at the end of the season once we have tried it out on the intended six occasions," he continued.
"We won't have sprints every weekend," he promised. "But we have a new audience and need to provide value for money every session, not let everyone drive around in circles for the sole benefit of engineers and drivers."
Now, on a reputed $5m a year, when boss at Ferrari Domenicali was only too happy to see "everyone drive around in circles", claiming that any suggested changes to the sport threatened its DNA. However, in his role as the 'acceptable face' of Liberty Media as it seeks to 'Americanise' and, more importantly, monetise every aspect of the sport, almost nothing appears to be off the table in pursuit of a whole new fan-base and its money.
Asked about Verstappen's threat to walk away from F1, Domenicali insisted that it is not an issue.
"I discussed the issues with Max, he said he loved the sport and what he was doing. He is world champion and is fighting for a third title.
"He was born in a car," he added. "I would say he is likely to stay longer than me. It's not a problem."