When it comes to making the sport more interesting for people, Formula 1 is not short of ideas. Some of these ideas have been consistently implemented in recent years. According to CEO Stefano Domenicali, the next proposal is already on the table – and could soon be tested.
New cars, new routes, new races: in recent years, Formula 1 has left no stone unturned to make the sport more exciting, more spectacular and more exciting for many people.
F1 boss Stefano Domenicali revealed in an interview with the Italian newspaper “Corriere della Serra” that the next small revolution is imminent.
Formula 1 wants less training and more action
Every single session should be important in the end and bring something countable, explained Domenicali. It should either be about “points, individual qualifying laps or qualifying for a shorter Saturday race”.
Means: The training sessions, which are important for the teams but rather unspectacular for fans, could soon be a thing of the past, at least on some weekends.
In this context, the Italian mentioned a proposal that has been hotly debated over and over again in recent months: the reverse grid, the so-called reverse grid.
Formula 1 is “obligated to try”
Races like the 2022 Belgian Grand Prix, where the grid was scrambled due to countless penalties, would have resulted in “wonderful position changes and more overtaking manoeuvres,” noted Domenicali, who expects similar action from a reversed grid.
The premier class has “a duty to try,” the Formula 1 boss indicated that the reverse grid could actually come soon – not in a “real” Grand Prix, but in a sprint race, for example.
However, the suggestion of a reversed starting line-up should not meet with much approval from the teams. They and many drivers have already strongly criticized this idea in the past, after all you are not only penalized for a good qualifying lap, you are also exposed to a higher risk of a crash.