FIA asks for more money for Brawn's sprint race plans

F1 chief Ross Brawn is only too happy to expand the sprint race format across the calendar. The Brit indicated he wanted to double the number by 2023, but after consulting with the FIA, it appears the motorsport federation is thwarting his plans.

FIA not yet cooperating with Brawn's plan

Brawn and his initially came up with the plan to experiment with the sprint race in 2021. The format didn't go down well with all F1 teams and all F1 fans, so expanding the experiment in 2022 was not possible. After some changes to the format, the first sprint race of 2022 has now been run. That one seemed a bit more entertaining than the previous three. Brawn indicated after the past weekend that he would like to expand in 2023.

Brawn wants to expand to six races, but after consultations that took place on Tuesday with the FIA, it appears that it will not happen so easily. No final decision has been made yet, but the FIA is thwarting the plans and is asking for compensation if six sprint races are approved. In a statement, the FIA said, "We are evaluating the effect that the proposal is going to have on our operation at the circuit and on the staff. " BBC has learned from multiple sources that the FIA wants to see more money in exchange for a commitment.

Surprise about Ben Sulayem

Highly placed sources at the FIA say they are surprised by FIA President Mohammed ben Sulayem's stance. After all, according to them, the FIA already gets more than enough money. They get forty million dollars from F1 and one million extra for every race that comes after the 20th race of the season. The FIA again replied that the money was not requested for profit purposes, but to pay for operation changes and staff. So the fact that the number of sprint races will be doubled to six by 2023 is not off the table yet, but agreement seems a long way off either. More meetings on this will follow.