F1 CEO eyes new Grand Slam World title for next season?

F1 CEO eyes new Grand Slam World title for next season?
16 September 2021 by    2 min read
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Sep.16 - Formula 1 could be set to introduce a third world title.

Currently, drivers and teams battle it out over the season for the ultimate spoils - the FIA drivers' and constructors' world championships.

But F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali says this year's three-round trial of the new sprint qualifying format could be expanded to as many as seven sprints in 2022.

"The reaction, the tension, the pace are all good," he told Italy's Autosprint.

"At this stage we are rethinking the format but I can imagine having up to seven sprint races."

Together, Domenicali images that the seven sprint races could all count towards a new Formula 1 'Grand Slam' title.

"We're thinking about a Grand Slam - an additional title to be awarded, as in tennis," said the Italian.

"Whoever wins the sprint race title and the championship will have won the Grand Slam. Formula 1 needs to change and become more interesting for the younger audience."

Significant changes such as that would need the support not only of the teams, but also the sport's governing body which is headed by Jean Todt.

Todt admits he is currently "a bit perplexed" about why a lone practice session currently exists between Friday's qualifying session and the sprint race.

"The only benefit is the information the teams can collect for something like tyre wear," said the Frenchman.

"From the point of view of the spectacle, it doesn't make much sense."

Todt also admits he has heard criticism that the fastest driver in the normal Friday qualifying session, rather than the sprint race winner, should be declared the pole sitter.

"We need to see about that," he confirms.

"With the sprint on Saturday, Friday has been upgraded because that's when qualifying takes place. But for me the most important thing is that Sunday remains the main event."

As for Domenicali's plans for up to 7 sprints in 2022, Todt insisted: "Nothing has been decided yet.

"Let's first take a moment to see what knowledge we have gained from the trials at Silverstone, Monza and Interlagos."

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9 F1 Fan comments on “F1 CEO eyes new Grand Slam World title for next season?”

  2. Chris

    A "Grand Slam" is 4 in Tennis and Golf, and 4 runs in baseball (as far as I can tell the originator of the term.

    They'd need to add Pole Champion and Most season wins or something to it to get "Grand Slam" and even then in Golf and Tennis the Grand Slam is something earned at specific events (so Monaco, Spa, Interlagos, and Abu Dhabi for instance)-they'd be better off calling it the "Triple Crown" chasing Pole Champion along with the other two.

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  3. ReallyOldRacer

    Here's a question for Steph' and the gang (not Liberty as some of you US haters cling to): what did we do to attract young people to our sport over the past seven decades? F1 is, indeed, unique in the racing sphere. It is filet mignon, not beef stew.

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  5. f1award

    Oh how I laughed "The reaction, the tension, the pace are all good," really. The only way to improve the sprint race would be by using hire cars on a figure of eight circuit.

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  7. smokey

    When you have a true World Championship contested around the world by drivers from all over the world, why would you want to degrade the purpose of the competition?
    Stefano Domenicali has lost the plot, although maybe he has never had or understood the plot! If it ain't broken, what is the purpose in trying to "fix" it? A sure way to kill the goose that laid the F1 golden egg!
    F1 has gone from strength to strength over the past 71 years in it's existing format, so what is the purpose in degrading the championship and it's true meaning. The proposed changes will serve only to fragment the events and demote the title of F1 World Champion.

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