Formula One: FIA talks about two-day grand prix weekends
A “two-day grand prix weekend” concept was discussed by Formula 1 teams as a part of the major revamp to race weekends.
The recent qualifying session at the Japanese Grand prix had to be postponed due to the uncertain conditions on Saturday and highlighted the sport’s ability to cope with a condensed schedule. Since then, teams started discussing a permanent move to two days
grand prix weekends to lessen the burden and time they spend on the road. However, this would impose extra pressure on the staff and pulling off such condensed schedules will not be easy every weekend.
“From the team's perspective it is quite intense, a lot of adrenaline, a lot of pressure," Ferrari team boss Stefano said.
“If you have a problem with the car or a crash, then it is very difficult to make sure that you are able to start the race. [But] it would be interesting how you [the media] and the public will think about it,” stated Domenicali.
Red Bull’s team boss Christian Horner also commented on the concept of a two-day race weekend.
“I think the format worked well in two days [in Japan] because of the bad weather. What we could possibly do is condense what happens on a Friday. Personally, I would prefer to keep qualifying on a Saturday and the racing on Sunday,”
he told L'Equipe.
As far as schedule is concerned, a two-day programme will be unpopular with circuits, as they will have a tough time organizing races for such a jam packed event and secondly, they would lose the extra revenue they gain from another day of ticket sales at
the track. However, Horner believes that there are still ways to improve the weekend within the three-day format and yes, that would be the most logical solution for the current problem.
“There are certainly things we could do with Friday. One example would be with the young drivers. Everybody arriving at the circuit on a Wednesday makes no sense. We need to discuss it with the FIA and FOM,” he added.
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