F1 has for now ruled out tweaking the race weekend format.
As the sport looks to beef and speed up in the next couple of years, some have also suggested that the race weekend format should be looked at afresh. In fact, Speed Week reports that the strategy group talks about it on a “regular basis”.
One idea is to have the qualifying on Saturday morning followed by a short afternoon race that forms the grid for Sunday’s main feature. “The discussion is not new,” agreed Sauber team manager Beat Zehnder, who is not convinced it is the right way forward for F1.
Some of the drivers are also not keen. “I am a traditionalist,” admits Sebastian Vettel, “and I think it would take something away from what grand prix racing is.”
Nico Rosberg agrees: “History is important to me, and we don’t suddenly see there being seven tennis grand slams instead of four. So in that way we need to be careful.”
But for now at least, the current race format appears safe. FIA president Jean Todt is quoted by Speed Week: “It’s simple — so far we have found nothing that in our view would be better than the current format. “If we do find something that we are convinced is really a step forward, then we would look at it very carefully.”
