Oct.18 (GMM) Carlos Sainz has called for Formula 1 to make fresh changes to its sprint weekend format, as the concept continues to divide drivers and promoters ahead of this weekend’s sprint event in Austin.
The Williams driver, who also serves as a director of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, told Auto Motor und Sport that F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali is “open to trying other things” – but that the current setup fails to add much excitement.
“For me, it’s important that the format changes. Stefano is open to trying other things. At the moment, I’m not a big fan of the sprint,” Sainz said. “It just shows what the first stint on Sunday will look like.”
Sainz revealed he has “his own ideas” about how the short-format races could be improved.
“A simple solution would be to let everyone start only on the soft tyre, because it has high degradation,” he explained. “On some tracks, we only use the soft tyre for one fast lap and then we throw away five sets that have seen little use.”
Still, Sainz believes that alone would not be enough.
“It needs something more exciting,” he said. “We need to experiment with the format and be open to it. If it works, that would be great. If not, we’ll just change it, as we’ve done in the past.”
Domenicali recently revived discussion about using a reversed grid for sprints – an idea that Sainz neither endorsed nor rejected.
“Personally, I’m not a big fan of it, but I’m not fundamentally against it either,” he said.
The Spaniard instead proposed an alternative: “Sprint qualifying could be changed; for example, holding a Super Pole would be an option.” The format, used briefly in the early 2000s, would see each driver complete a solo flying lap to determine the grid.
Any changes are unlikely to be implemented before 2027 unless F1, the FIA, and all 11 teams unanimously agree – in which case new sprint rules could come into effect as early as 2026.
Meanwhile, the promoter of the US GP, Bobby Epstein, says he is unsure whether sprint weekends meaningfully boost ticket sales, even as COTA decides to drop its sprint next year.
“I think the sprint events add value to tickets, so I’m grateful for that,” Epstein told AS-Web. “I’m not sure if it’s significantly increased ticket sales, but the fans seem to like it.”
“They weren’t immediately seen as an attractive asset and didn’t necessarily increase ticket sales, but they add value to the ticket and give people more, so we’ve always valued them,” he said.
“We don’t know yet whether this will lead to increased ticket sales, but if spectators spend more time at the circuit by buying weekend passes, that will be good for us.”
Epstein also admitted that the sprint format may not be decisive for spectators choosing to attend.
“I don’t think anyone is deciding whether to come to a Grand Prix based on whether there is a sprint race or not,” he said. “We don’t know yet whether it’s a significant factor, but it may be getting stronger. We’ll need to look at the data.”
Based on current figures, he concluded, “We haven’t seen any significant changes in terms of sales or demand, but we certainly see an increase in entertainment value, and there’s no question that’s important to us.”
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