Article by Tudor Belivaca – published on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, 16:12 / Updated Tuesday, August 12, 2025:13
Stefano Domenicali, the executive director of Formula 1, revealed that the championship organizers consider the increase in the number of sprints and experimenting with the start -up grids in the near future.
The Italian gave an interview for The Race, quoted by Sportal.bg, in which he spoke about the Structure Structure of the 1st Formula 1. Traditionally, they include three training sessions, qualifications and a race on Saturday or Sunday. In 2021, however, a significant change was made, with the introduction of sprint races on some weekends.
Stefano Domenicali proposes: several sprint races and reversed grilles
Initially, there were three sprints a year, but from 2023 their number was doubled to six. Domenicali did not exclude the possibility that in the future there will be several sprints, as well as the reversed start grids, as is the case in the lower championships, such as Formula 2 and Formula 3.
“I think there is the possibility of doing two things we need to talk to with pilots, teams and, of course, with the beast. The first is if we can increase the number of sprints. The second is if this is the correct formula to test the inverted grids, as we do in Formula 2 and Formula 3. These are themes that need to be discussed.
There is certainly an increasing desire for progress in this direction. Therefore, I feel ready to propose not only more sprints, but also new formats, new ideas. We are open to reversed grids. I think the right approach is to listen to our fans and try to create something, without fear of mistake. Nothing venture nothing have. I think the sprint, regardless of its format, is something we need, will represent our future ”, said domestic, according to the quoted source.
What represents the inverted grids used in Formula 2 and Formula 3
In formula 2 the normal qualifications are held, as in F1. The pilots from the top 10, following the qualifications, are reversed on the grid for the sprint race of the weekend (eg: the pilot who finished the qualifications in the first place, will start in the sprint race on 10 and so on). The race itself by Formula 2 is based on Friday's qualifications. The reversed grid is applied only for the sprint race from a formula 2 weekend to give the pilots to score as best as possible.
The same format is also applied to Formula 3, except that instead of the first 10 pilots the first 12 places are reversed.
