F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali @RacePictures

F1 CEO Domenicali clarifies comments on shorter races in the future

10:21, 14 Sep

Updated: 10:56, 14 Sep

byTobia Elia

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has clarified his comments made before Monza regarding the possibility of shortening Grand Prix races in the future.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali @RacePictures

“I never said we need to cut the distance of the race''

- Stefano Domenicali

Speaking in an interview with The Observer, Domenicali stated: “I never said we need to cut the distance of the race. What I’m saying is that the span of attention of the people today is very short, so we need to be attractive.''

''We need to understand if the format of racing is the right one or not. It could be longer or shorter. Every idea has to be considered.”

The comments under the microscope

On the eve of the Monza weekend, speaking with the Italian media, the Formula 1 CEO commented on the possibility of shorter Grand Prix in the future to better cater to younger generations, who, according to the numbers, prefer watching highlights.

“There’s the issue of race length: we believe it’s a bit too long for younger viewers. We’re seeing on many of our channels that highlight reels are hugely popular—perhaps for those of us who grew up with the full format it’s fine, but a large portion of the audience only wants to see the key moments.''

He then added: ''Things are going very well today, but precisely because of that, we shouldn’t rest on our laurels; we need to think about the next step forward.”

How F1 drivers reacted to those comments

Several drivers, asked about the issue during Thursday’s Monza press conference, shared their opinions, including Kimi Antonelli, Franco Colapinto and Fernando Alonso.

''I don’t think it’s a problem with the sport,'' the Spaniard said. ''So probably it’s not needed to change, but Stefano knows better than anyone. So if he thinks that it’s needed, we are in good hands with him in this kind of decision. It’s a problem of society and the kids, but not the sport. So probably it’s not needed, the change.''

Antonelli added: ''It’s a tough one. I think personally, Sprint weekends are fun because you have a lot of activity. You have to be on point straight away because you have one practice, then qualifying, and then you go into a Sprint race.''

''But I think shorter races — I don’t think it would really work, because already now with long races, we do one-stop strategy with the tyres we have. They would have to implement so many more rules for a shorter race in terms of pit stops and so on, because I don’t think it would change so much.''

Finally, Colapinto said: ''I can’t comment too much on that — there are a lot of new things happening in the sport and they are bringing a lot of new people to it. I think we are all very grateful for the effort they have been doing in the past to make the sport better and to bring it to where it is now.''

''I just enjoy driving. So if we keep driving and keep doing a lot of laps, I’m happy with that. It doesn’t really matter what session it is.''

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