Williams boss James Vowles has urged Formula 1 to consider condensing race weekends, suggesting a shorter schedule could allow the calendar to expand.
The structure of Grand Prix weekends has come under renewed scrutiny after F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali highlighted the need to keep exploring new formats.
Among the ideas floated were shorter races and reverse grids, but the most pressing debate remained the number of Sprint Races currently on the calendar.
The topic arose during the team principals’ press conference ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, but Vowles shifted the focus to tweaking the weekend format.
“I think what we see on Sprint Race weekends is the numbers go up, the audiences go up, so it is generally a hit,” Vowles told media including Motorsport Week.
“I’m more someone that would like to debate whether we go to two-day weekends, Saturday, Sunday.
“I’d just reduce the amount of free practice and make it a spectacle, but by doing that, and giving back 24 days to the teams, actually you could do a few more race weekends if you wanted.
“So, slightly different out there suggestion, but I think six Sprints for me is about the right number. I frankly don’t care where they are, it’s absolutely fine being here.”
Support and skepticism over sprint expansion
Aston Martin’s Andy Cowell suggested that the upcoming regulation changes could make even circuits like Singapore better suited for shorter, faster races.
“It will be interesting to see what the overtaking is like next year with the new regulations,” he said.
“So we may well see more overtaking and so therefore Singapore being chosen isn’t a problem, the fans love Sprint Race weekends and we all work for the fans.
“I therefore support it and exactly the same as Steve, maybe you could do more but 24 might be a push too far.”
Alpine Managing Director Steve Nielsen concurred, admitting that his stance on Sprint Races has changed since their introduction back in 2021.
“I think Sprint Races have been a good thing,” he said.
“Maybe I’m a lone voice on the couch here, but I think Sprint Races have been a good thing and I say that as somebody who to begin with was not that enthusiastic.
“I would like to see more of them and I think when we do races now, where we have three free practice sessions, it seems very long.
“I think it would be nice for the guys in the grandstands to have, well guys and girls rather, to have more stuff to look at.
“So I would be an advocate of having more Sprint Races and I’m happy there’s one in Singapore.
“I think there’s a happy sort of number, I’m not sure what it is, greater than six, less than 24 but yeah, it wouldn’t work everywhere but I think we can definitely do more than we do.”
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