In order to give young talents more driving time, Formula 1 is considering a sprint race with rookies at the end of the season
Formula 1 is toying with the idea of holding a rookie sprint race at the end of the season after the tire test in Abu Dhabi. The idea arose during a discussion at the last meeting of the Formula 1 Commission and is intended to open up further driving opportunities for young talents.
As testing opportunities with the current cars are severely limited, the impression has been reinforced that rookies are not as well prepared as they used to be when more driving time was allowed. For this reason, appropriate solutions are being sought.
One idea was to allow rookies as wildcard drivers in Formula 1 races, but this was rejected as there is no possibility of allowing third cars and there is no desire to replace current stars with relatively unknown young talent.
Another idea is to open up more practice sessions to rookies. The latest proposal is now even considering a post-season sprint race.
It could take place after the one-day test scheduled for the Tuesday after the season finale in Abu Dhabi in December. According to the current rules, the teams have to enter two cars there. One of the cars must be made available for rookie drivers who have not driven in more than two Grand Prix races.
Before the next meeting of the Formula 1 Commission in September, the sporting directors were asked to examine whether the idea is feasible and what the regulatory framework would have to look like, as a change to the sporting rules would be required
Domenicali supports the idea
Ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali explained that he believes the idea makes sense in order to develop young talent. “There is a project on the table, which is the possibility of organizing a sprint race for young drivers in Abu Dhabi,” he said.
“We are reflecting on how we can give young drivers the opportunity to prove themselves and gain experience during the test there – not only by driving in the test, but also in a competitive context.”
“It would certainly support their training to prepare them for the next step. We will talk about it in detail by the end of September to understand the feasibility of this idea,” announced the Formula 1 CEO.
Hosting a sprint race after the Abu Dhabi test, however, would be a huge logistical challenge for the teams and organizers in terms of factors such as timing systems, security, officials and team personnel.
It is also unclear how such a sprint race would be televised, whether it would be sold to regular broadcasters or shown on Formula 1’s own channels.
Should the plan for a rookie sprint race gain momentum, it would be a great advantage for the up-and-coming drivers who have secured a seat for next year. Haas up-and-comer Oliver Bearman could take part, as could Andrea Kimi Antonelli, who is expected to dock with Mercedes.
Ultimately, however, it might be too much of a challenge to organize for this year, which is not to say that the idea could not be realized for 2025.
More sprint races planned for the future
Formula 1 CEO Domenicali believes the sprint races have been a success for the series and has reiterated his belief that there should be more than six per season in the future. But he believes this will not happen until 2026.
“There is the possibility of introducing more weekends in the future, but not in 2025,” he said. “We are seeing more and more interest, but we can’t imagine it like MotoGP, where there is a sprint race every weekend.”
Nevertheless, the Italian emphasized: “I believe that there is room to increase the number of sprint races and we will talk about it by the end of the year. ”
