F1 is considering making “radical changes” to the sprint race format as the consensus currently is that the current plan is not delivering the excitement that many expected of it. According to autosport.com, the ticket sales for this past weekend’s United States Grand Prix took a hit, resulting in many to believe that the sprint race format needed a relook. As the discussions continue to improve excitement in F1, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff has raised serious concerns with the sprint race format. The Austrian believes that such a format is resulting in F1 edging closer to the lower Formula categories.
However, as per the report from autosport.com, F1 is adamant to keep the sprint race format. Rumors are currently going around the paddock that F1 is considering several “radical” ideas to make the sprint race format more interesting.
F1 got very lucky with earlier Sprints this year due to weather but now we’ve had a ‘normal’ one again it’s quite clear the format is so dead
— Tom Bellingham (@TomP1Bellingham) October 21, 2023
One such idea is that the Saturdays can have a standalone sprint championship. Another idea that the report states is that a whopping $1,000,000 prize could be awarded to the winner of the sprint to encourage the drivers to take this format more seriously.
Meanwhile, the last idea that many have discussed is the concept of a reverse grid format. However, Wolff is completely against such ideas and would rather prefer to have no sprint races.
Toto Wolff believes F1 should drop the sprint race format completely
Following this past weekend’s United States Grand Prix, Toto Wolff shared his thoughts about the sprint race format. He explained how he has always been “conservative in racing“, and hence would prefer to have the sprint format scrapped. The Austrian then explained how F1 will edge closer to the lower Formula categories if they continue to make changes to the sport.
“Then if we start to meddle even more and do more reverse grid races, we’re going more to a format of junior formulas. Sport currently follows entertainment, whilst entertainment should follow sport,” explained the 51-year-old (as quoted by racefans.net).
This is not the first time that Wolff has stated about how entertainment should follow sport. Even when Lewis Hamilton provided suggestions about how F1 should introduce new rules to avoid the continued domination of one single team, Wolff made it clear in an interview with ESPN that this sport is a “meritocracy” and the teams that have done the best deserve to dominate.
He then added, “Entertainment follows the sport and not the other way around. We cannot be WWE. Scripted content. We don’t want to be scripted content“. Meanwhile, it is pertinent to note that it is not just Wolff who raised concerns with the sprint race format.
COTA chairman explains how sprint races reduced ticket sales
In a recent interview, Circuit of the Americas (COTA) chairman Bobby Epstein made it clear that Max Verstappen’s domination is not the reason for the lower ticket sales this year as compared to last season. Epstein is confident that it is the sprint race format that has not “helped” COTA to sell more tickets.
When asked if Verstappen’s domination this season has resulted in reduced ticket sales, Epstein replied, (as quoted by racingnews365.com), “Then why is Sunday still so strong? If it’s the Max factor that affects the attendance I’d say: ‘Well it passed that test, now I’m saying part two has got the same thing happening on Saturday“.
Sprint races were initially introduced in F1 because the organizers believed that such a format would bring more entertainment to the sport as Saturdays were usually boring. However, with F1 now having a lower attendance during the sprint race weekends, the format has not helped bring the desired results. Hence, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and the teams are likely to have more discussions regarding the same and decide what’s the best course for the future.
