Among the guests present in Portimao on the occasion of the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix staged last week was also Stefano Domenicali, the CEO of Formula 1. Over the last few months, the two categories have found several points in common both from the point of view of sport promotion and in the search for a new format, with the two-wheeled series opting for the introduction of the sprint starting this season.
The Formula 1 CEO did not hesitate to praise the work done by Dorna, repeating a concept so dear to Liberty Media, namely that free practice should be modified to find a way to involve the public more and offer more entertainment. A questionable position, which he has caused discussion, because it would mean further distorting the DNA of the race weekend.
The declarations expressed by Domenicali were also the center of attention on Thursday in Melbourne, with the riders offering their – contrasting – point of view on a possible format change. Who expressed a critical position in this regard was Max Verstappen, who, in general, didn’t hide how the choices made by the American promoter didn’t totally convince him, starting with the sprint race.
“I don’t think (Domenicali) meant exactly that, because obviously you can’t go to qualifying without free practice” explained the Dutchman, suggesting that Domenicali didn’t intend a complete cancellation of free practice, but rather a reinterpretation.
“But I’m not a fan of sprint weekends, I’m not a fan of the number of races we do nowadays and I’m not even a fan of changing the whole format (without practice sessions). They have to be careful not to change the entire DNA of Formula 1. I think it’s important not to play too much with this aspect, because then, of course, everything stops at a certain point,” added the Red Bull standard bearer.
If the two-times world champion was rather perplexed about any format changes, other drivers instead supported Domenicali’s words, arguing that at the moment Formula 1 can count on too many free practice sessions, especially if compared with the propaedeutic categories.
Charles Leclerc, Scuderia Ferrari, Oscar Piastri, McLaren, Zhou Guanyu, Alfa Romeo F1 Team, Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin F1 Team and Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing during the stampa conference
Photo by: Motorsport Images
“I think one session is enough for all of us to do the various things that we have to try and develop (the car),” explained George Russell during the press conference.
“This is still the pinnacle of the sport. You don’t want to be left with the machine you created at the beginning of the year without having the opportunity to try new things. This is precisely the beauty, sometimes: you have 60 minutes of session available, you can try new things, develop them and improve them further. If, on the other hand, you immediately go for a session that is worth points, it is less likely that you will try new things ”.
“I don’t think it’s fair that Formula 1 has three times as many tests as Formula 3 and Formula 2. They should be the ones to practice more, also because they do fewer races and don’t have the opportunity to test so often.”
The Mercedes driver also underlined how, after being against the introduction of the sprint race, he actually revised his thinking about it: “No free practice session would be too little. Initially I was not in favor of sprint racing, but after doing (six) in two years, I really like sprint racing. Having a race on Friday I think is essential for all of us and also for the fun factor”.
George Russell, Mercedes-AMG and Pierre Gasly, Alpine F1 Team during the press conference
Photo by: Motorsport Images
A position that Verstappen found in open contrast, who was asked what he thought of Russell’s words: “Do fewer practice sessions? But at the same time (Russell) says we should do more winter tests, which is a bit strange”, explained the two-times world champion, underlining how, in reality, the Briton himself had asked to have more days available in the pre-season.
“Even what they are doing now in Formula 3 and Formula 2 seems ridiculous to me. You pay a lot of money and then you only have 45 minutes of practice before going into qualifying. Even that doesn’t make sense to me,” added the Red Bull standard bearer.
Other riders also took part in the remote question-and-answer session, who were asked for their opinion on the possibility of changing the free practice format, perhaps by reducing the sessions available over the weekend.
“Definitely we don’t need three (free practice sessions)”, added Gasly, who confirmed that he is in line with the position expressed by Russell. “It’s always nice to be able to work on the details of the car and try to find the right balance for the weekend, but in general one, maximum two (free practice sessions) are more than enough for us.”
Nico Hulkenberg, Haas F1 Team and Logan Sargeant, Williams Racing during the press conference
Photo by: Motorsport Images
Nico Hulkenberg also expressed themselves on the same wavelength, who stated that he appreciated the format used in the preparatory categories, with reduced sessions before qualifying, and Logan Sargeant, who took advantage of it to investigate how things change for a rookie.
“Three (free practice sessions) is definitely a lot, especially coming from F2 where you have to risk a lot sooner than you currently have to. As a rookie, I don’t mind having two or three, but in the future I don’t think three is necessary.” declared the Williams driver.
Formula 2 drivers, in fact, only have one free practice session available before going into qualifying, also thanks to the compact weekend that includes two races and the other categories.
Read also:
Even Lando Norris would prefer a different format, with a single free practice session putting the riders under pressure: “To be honest, I prefer this. I like FP1 directed towards something serious. I like FP1 followed by qualifying, it puts the riders under pressure, it puts the engineers under pressure and we get straight into action. You immediately enter a challenging scenario”.
“To be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of sprint racing yet, but I love the preparation on Sunday and all the pressure there is on Sunday and qualifying on Saturday. So I don’t know how it could be changed. But maybe just one FP1 that turns into qualifying. It’s a beautiful thing and it will only be on Saturday and Sunday, so I don’t know,” added the McLaren driver.
