Formula 1 News: Liberty eyes expansion of Sprint format

(GMM) Formula 1 could be heading toward a dramatic expansion of its Sprint format and it has the backing of Fabio Briatore (pictured). In a statement following the latest Formula 1 Commission meeting in Bahrain, officials confirmed the idea is firmly under discussion.

“There were discussions around the possibility of increasing the Sprint events up to 12 based on the demand for Sprints from fans and promoters,” the FIA said.

While no change is planned for 2026, Liberty Media is understood to favor a longer-term expansion from the current six Sprint weekends to potentially 12.

One vocal supporter is Alpine executive advisor Flavio Briatore.

“Do I support the idea of holding 12 sprints? Even better, 24!” he told Italy’s Formula Passion.

“Otherwise, Friday free practice should be abandoned altogether.

“Answer me this question – what do the people who come to the stands on Fridays actually do? Because now Fridays are only for engineers – on Fridays, you tweak the car’s settings, testing them over and over again. You don’t think about doing anything that would be interesting for the spectators.”

Briatore argues that Sprint Fridays give fans something meaningful to watch.

“With a weekend format with sprints on Fridays, the drivers are fighting for something,” he said. “So I fully support increasing the number of sprints. I also told Stefano Domenicali that I would agree to holding sprints regularly, even every week.

“By doing so, we would demonstrate to our customers – the fans – that Fridays can be fun on the track, too.”

The 75-year-old dismissed concerns that more Sprint weekends would hurt teams’ development flexibility due to the lack of free practice.

“If you want to bring new parts and test them, you can do so during the race,” Briatore insisted. “And for teams that find themselves lagging behind, catching up will be difficult in any case.

“Fans want to see a fight, a competition.”