Domenicali to push the reverse grid topic again

As if having six Sprint weekends is not enough, Domenicali now thinks it is time to push for more of those glorified practice sessions, which start and finish in the same order almost every time, barring a few outliers when we have a few overtakes.

And to make matters worse, Domenicali now wants to rehash the reverse grid topic, something that has been discussed before and rejected by everyone who understands what Formula 1 should be about.

But that is the state of our sport these days, trying to attract fans that have the attention span of a goldfish and who believe Formula 1 is what they see in Drive to Survive, while other pressing points, like the size of the cars and their raceability, as well as the controversial upcoming 2026 power unit and chassis regulations, are what the sport should really focus on sorting.

Once again, Formula 1 management, in its endless push to "spice up the show", goes on to manage the easy and bury their heads in the sand, believing that Sprints and gimmicks like reverse grids will solve the problem as if DRS and the upcoming moveable aero on 2026 F1 cars are not artificial enough.

Domenicali was recently interviewed by The Race where he said: "I do believe there are possibilities to extend two things, which we need to discuss, both with the drivers and the teams, and, of course, with the FIA.

"There are: can we apply that [sprint schedules] with more races? And is this the right formula to have the possibility to have a reverse grid, as we are doing with F2 and F3? These are points of discussion.

"I think that we are getting there to be mature to make sure that this point will be tackled seriously with the teams.

"The vibes to progress in this direction are definitely growing, and therefore I'm ready to present and to discuss not only more sprints… But if there are new formats, new ideas," he added.

The Race revealed a poll on their YouTube community claiming 44% of the fans did not want Sprints at all, while those who do want them asked for changes, including reverse grids.

Domenicali commented: "We are open for that, because I think that's the right thing—to listen to our fans, to try to create something, and not to be worried to do mistakes. The one who believes to do no mistakes doesn't do anything new."

"I think that the sprint, whatever will be the right format, we need to have it. It will represent the future," the Italian insisted.

Which begs the question: What about the 44% who do not want Sprints? They are hardly a minority...

But it's not all bad; Domenicali, while not ruling it out, said he won't be rushed into having all F1 weekends with a Sprint format, like MotoGP did... There's your silver lining, people!

"I'm not saying no, but I think that, between six and 24, we have to do steps into the middle," he said.

The folks over at The Race then revealed another poll regarding the number of Grands Prix per season, showing that 44% prefer between 19 and 21 races, while 25% agree with having 22-24 races.

And here Domenicali sided with the fans as well, but the minority this time, as this serves Liberty Media's plans to milk Formula 1 by sending it to places that have no relevance but can pay more money. So we now go to artificial street tracks or carpark tracks like Miami and chase races in countries where people struggle to have enough food.

On the other hand, tracks like Monaco are blackmailed at every contract renewal. Spa now has to alternate with other tracks, while Imola will not be on the calendar from 2026.

He explained: "Today, the number of partners that not only we have, but also the teams have, means that the platform is valuable.

"When I say valuable, I go back to the point [that it] is right in terms of the commercial offer. If it wouldn't be right, it wouldn't be so popular.

"So that's why I do believe that I can write myself in the 25% of your poll because that is the right number that is sustainable from the commercial and also from this point in perspective.

"Don't forget one thing which is relevant I believe. We are in a world where content is very important to be attractive or relevant.

"We have only 24 races. Football has 70 games. Baseball, 165 games, every day on TV. So to generate content to be attractive with only, I would say, 24 races, is a massive task," Domenicali concluded.