F1 and the FIA released a joint statement to note about being on the same page amid recent troubles, as Stefano Domenicali address various topics.
Ever since the takeover of Mohammed Ben Sulayem as FIA President, the situation between the governing body and F1 been a bit on and off. There has been various public nay sayings, while things have cooked between the two on the inside too.
There has been various instances with the latest being the F1 Academy case of Susie Wolff and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff where the FIA seemingly opened up a case of conflict, which received a stark criticism and a legal filing from the Austrian.
Amid public differences, F1 and the FIA has released a joint statement ahead of this weekend’s Imola GP talking about development of strategic plan for the good of the sport. It doesn’t carry any quotes, but is a plain statement.
“The FIA Formula 1 World Championship has never been so strong and is growing globally and the FIA and Formula 1 are committed to delivering the best outcomes for the whole sport,” it said. “To that end, both parties are developing a new strategic plan that will allow us to seize the opportunities and further enhance the potential for F1 in the years ahead.”
Amid this, F1 chief Domencali has been speaking with the Italian media about various topics relating to the sport. One of it is the case of Red Bull having ownership of two teams, where the Italian noted about being careful in the handling of that.
There is scope of improvement certainly. Among others, Domenicali noted of the calendar size and how new markets is forcing the traditional circuits to step up. Speaking of retaining the tradition, the sprint format is also being monitored.
The Italian threw light on MotoGP style of whole season sprint races, which Domenicali isn’t saying no to on F1 side despite knowing the ‘tradition vs modern’ battle which is ongoing. Here’s excerpts from what he said about various topics –
F1 calendar, size –
Domenicali: “We are seeing a lot of interest from a lot of countries in Formula 1, and this obviously represents an opportunity for development. At the same time, however, it puts us under an obligation to make choices in terms of the calendar. We are seeing a growing interest in the Far East and the United States, but also a revival in Europe, most probably thanks to Madrid, which gave a shake-up just when everyone thought that nobody on the Old World was interested in doing something new. You will also see the work done on the Hungaroring circuit, which confirms that the Formula 1 movements are helping to raise the bar for facilities that had remained somewhat sedentary over the years. I say this in a very constructive way: if there is no will to invest, work and make projects together, even in the long term, there will be a risk of losing Formula 1.
“By the end of this year we will have some important choices to make because we are approaching some deadlines (of contracts with the promoters of several Grand Prix) but in terms of health we are in a very positive period. Today Formula 1 is definitely the most important sporting platform globally, the World Cup and the Olympics are extraordinary events but they take place every four years, whereas we are there all the time. Today the maximum number of races that can form a calendar is 25, and on my part there is the will to maintain it. To go beyond that would mean jeopardising the momentum we are experiencing, which is characterised by a high appreciation of events thanks to the countries that would like to join the calendar.
“With regard to the points system in the world championship rankings, there has been a request from some teams to increase the number of points beyond the tenth position. We are doing some simulations, but as has always happened in the past when the points allocation system has been changed, we have to be very careful about the drawbacks. At first everyone is happy, then over time the criticisms emerge. But I can say that we will not have a system that awards points to all drivers who start.”
Debate around sprint weekends –
Domenicali: “The numbers tell us that people like the sprint weekends. We know that there is also a more traditionalist part of the public that has been following Formula 1 for a long time, and doesn’t particularly like this format, but in terms of attractiveness there is no doubt that the ‘sprint’ route is the right one. I believe that the change to the format introduced this year has met the demands of the ‘traditionalists’ by keeping qualifying on Saturday afternoon and opening the parc ferme after the sprint race. For my part I will wait until the end of this season to evaluate the feedback, but I don’t think we will go back.
“MotoGP has chosen a radical step, introducing the sprint format on all weekends, while we want to go there gradually, but I am convinced that nowadays a Friday without any official classification loses some of its appeal compared to sprint Fridays, where there is a qualifying session. I repeat, our approach has been cautious to try to understand if the direction was the right one, we have corrected some critical points that have emerged in previous years, and at the end of this season I think there will be a need to evaluate whether to take this direction even more decisively. We will also evaluate the impact that such a choice can have in terms of the budget cap, an issue that MotoGP does not have.”
Red Bull owning two teams –
Domenicali: “The subject of the Red Bull group’s dual ownership has been on the table for a few months now, but I would like to emphasise straight away that we must not forget the benefits that Red Bull brought to Formula 1 through the purchase and running of a second team. With regard to choices made in the past there are no doubts, Red Bull will remain the owner of two teams, then they will eventually decide, whether or not to retain ownership of both teams. What choices will be made in the future is another story, and in that case it is not certain that no boundaries will be put in place.
“We know that the more we grow, the more the value of each team’s franchise increases, just as we are aware that a concentration of team ownership, and consequently of votes in the F1 Commission, can be the subject of discussions and constraints. There is also the topic of common parts on the table, i.e. the technical components that teams can now sell and buy. I think this is an aspect to be approached with caution because the balance found today is not bad, we are talking about components that some teams have been buying from others for many years now. There are no signs, from this perspective, that suggest that the current regulations should be changed’.”
Liberty Media buying MotoGP –
Domenicali: “Liberty has bought MotoGP, but as we have already said on several occasions, until the proceedings finalised by the antitrust authorities we cannot comment. The only thing I can say is that the two organisations (F1 and MotoGP) will remain separate, then when the proceedings are completed we will see how to approach everything. The aspect that I personally find very positive is to see a group like Liberty, which has a great vision, initially focusing on the Formula 1 platform and then expanding to MotoGP, showing that they believe in the potential of motorsport.”
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