“We’re going to avoid as much as possible the triple-headers”- F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali

“We’re going to avoid as much as possible the triple-headers”- F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali makes this stance despite interest from other circuits.

Formula 1 last year presented a tedious schedule for the race drivers, with multiple double-headers and triple headers. Even this year in the 23-race project, F1 is set to have a similar kind of schedule.

There have been some objections over such exhausting schedule, but F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has claimed that F1 drivers must be considerate about their privilege regarding job losses amidst the pandemic.

“For sure it is delicate, and we need to manage it, but we don’t have to forget there are people that have lost their jobs, there are people who are suffering a lot, so I think that it is better to put that into perspective,” he explained to the Motorsport.com.

“I know that it’s difficult for all the families and all the people to stay out and work hard, but on the other hand, we need to respect all the people that don’t have this opportunity.

Couldn’t have expanded the season

Domenicali has emphasised that minimalizing the season to certain weeks was the only realistic call, as the lockdown across the world didn’t allow them to start it earlier in 2020.

“In the short-term this year, that was the only way to try to keep the COVID effect as minimal as possible, because if we had done more races at the beginning, the risk would have been higher.

“Therefore that is the reason why we have moved to the second half of the season this situation.” He further promises that F1 will drop the approach of double and triple headers in coming years, even though there have been interests from other venues.

“There are areas that I can tell you that have shown interest, which is basically in North Africa and South Africa,” he said. “This is very important, I think, in terms of having a new place or an old place with a great heritage back in F1.”

“And I can tell you that we don’t have to forget that we have lost some European races that now are showing the interest to be considered again.”

“So what is going to happen in the future is that we need to decide what is the right balance in terms of several races. What are the areas that we need to invest in for teams strategically, and in terms of interest for broadcast, for media, for sponsors and then decide what would be the right way to go, knowing that 23 races are at the top end of the scale of what we are doing today.”

“For sure, if we are producing a good product, you may say that if the value is high, you may reach the same kind of business [income] without being too numerous in terms of races. And that could be the approach if you’re able to make the right choices.

“I think that that would be the way to go. It will not maybe [happen] in the shortest time, but that’s the target I would say.”

About the author

Tanish Chachra

Tanish Chachra is the Motorsport editor at The SportsRush. He saw his first race when F1 visited India in 2011, and since then, his romance with the sport has been seasonal until he took up this role in 2020. Reigniting F1's coverage on this site, Tanish has fallen in love with the sport all over again. He loves Kimi Raikkonen and sees a future world champion in Oscar Piastri. Away from us, he loves to snuggle inside his books.

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