F1 wants to make practice more exciting — at what cost to the race?

One such idea that has been floated is similar to that of MotoGP, with the sprint not impacting the grand prix itself, and instead Saturday seeing a separate qualifying for the main race on top of the Friday schedule. But even if that were to come to pass, it’s only currently going to impact six events.

With at least 18 other races intended to take place each season, that’s 18 times where F1 isn’t happy with the interest level because Friday’s two practice sessions don’t carry a competitive element to them. And I’m torn on this one.

Regular readers (you have my apologies) may remember towards the end of last year I stated how I’m a fan of the sprint format because of the additional competitive edge it gives to a race weekend, with one fewer practice session and one additional race. F1 has tended to have significant amounts of practice time and it felt like a good trade.

So while I am in favour of reducing the amount of free practice that takes place during a race weekend if it means more sessions that are competitive, I do push back on the idea of cancelling practice altogether – whether that was the intended point to be taken from Domenicali’s comments or not.

Formula 1 is a global championship, and claims to be the pinnacle of motorsport. And like any elite sport, the competitors need to be able to train and practice and hone their skills. The lack of in-season testing – and even of pre-season testing now, though the three days did feel like the right amount for this year – restricts so much of the work to be done via simulator, and really limits the opportunities for drivers to actually practice driving the car they will race all year.

Something like Formula 2 provides a harsh training ground for young drivers because of the total of 45 minutes of practice time before heading into qualifying and two races, but then it’s a spec series where the car isn’t changing race-to-race – only the conditions and track – and there are much more limited set-up adjustments that can be made.

That’s not the case in F1, where the constant updating of cars in search of more performance is one of the sport’s most intriguing aspects, and the technological challenge is something that makes it so special to more than just the drivers.

Domenicali is right that practice is of great use to the engineers, but the hint of whataboutism in saying the public doesn’t like it is slightly concerning. Not everything has to be everything to everybody. You can’t create a race weekend schedule that works for every single fan around the world, nor that provides the exact same amount of entertainment to each one.

At which stage do you remember to perfect the core product – the racing – and stop trying to make every single second of a race weekend as enticing? Surely if you held a grand prix on each day, that would dilute the overall attraction of each one and you’d still have certain days watched more intently than others.

It’s one of the points I was trying to make in last week’s column about Red Bull, as F1 worries about the dominance and how fans who became hooked in 2021 might lose interest. I’m not saying there shouldn’t be a desire to improve things – far from it – but having a brilliant season and then seeing a negative because others aren’t as brilliant is the wrong way to view it in my opinion.

Not every single thing has to be incredible and amazing and exciting at all times, or even can be. Much more low-key events such as practice sessions are acceptable if they facilitate a better overall product when it comes to qualifying and the grand prix itself.

Feel free to look into changes for that reason Stefano, but not because you want to get the same viewing and attendance figures for a Friday practice as you do a grand prix.