Doubling down on his assist for the Dash, F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali additionally believes that reverse grids are the way in which to go.
These new followers gained over by Drive to Survive, the relentless social media push and subsequent 12 months’s blockbuster film starring Brad Pitt, will not know any totally different, however for these followers of a barely totally different classic the game is heading in a completely totally different route to what they’re used to, primarily pop live shows with a little bit of racing in between.
Certainly one of many modifications the brand new house owners have delivered to F1 is the Dash, a subject which continues to divide followers and drivers alike.
Stefano Domenicali is a fan of the idea launched simply a few years in the past and which now options at six races every season.
“I bear in mind once we launched them we had a number of criticism from the purists, who we have to at all times take heed to, even to those who aren’t pleased with it,” he tells Motorsport.com. “However I really feel that now the factor has shifted utterly the opposite method round. I feel that the change we have launched this 12 months is the proper one for a lot of causes, with separate qualifying and parc ferme. The circulation is a lot better at this time.
“I feel that we’re not ready to say that we will be like MotoGP, for instance, with a full race calendar scenario of sprints,” he provides. “However there’s margin to develop, perhaps for one third of the calendar. That may very well be a risk.
“After which, after all, there are particular subjects which can be at all times fairly debatable,” he continues. “We will actually as soon as once more talk about if there’s the necessity to reverse the grid, or half of the grid like what F2 and F3 are doing. So these are at all times issues to maintain the thoughts alive, if I’ll say, with the intent to maintain one thing at all times fascinating.”
A favorite idea of the likes of Ross Brawn, is the reverse grid, one other suggestion which can have the purist apoplectic on the very thought. Not so the F1 CEO.
“Personally, I’d say, why not?” he says. “It is a number of motion. It’s overtaking. You are preventing for factors? Some folks can say, ‘Oh, it’s a faux method of racing’. Pretend? There may be nothing faux associated to what you imagine is the proper format to provide nice motion. So I’d have an interest to debate that once more. Sure.”
Like Brawn, Domenicali, a former boss at Ferrari, is poacher turned gamekeeper, now closely in favour of what would have been unthinkable in his earlier position.
At Ferrari, like Brawn, Domenicali craved each second of monitor time out there in an effort to check his automobiles, overtly lamenting the times when testing was a free-for-all. Now, in his gamekeeper position, he sees apply periods as a waste of time.
“Is it an excellent leisure for folks coming already on a Friday to see automobiles going across the monitor simply to organize higher for qualifying and the race?” he asks. “I imply, is that what folks wish to see?
“There’s a large funding in simulation instruments to try this,” he continues. “So my dream will likely be: each time that you simply go on the monitor, there’s something to battle for. That is the character of racing. That is the character of the drivers, as a result of they wish to be the primary each time, and that is why we must be aiming for this sort of goal sooner or later.
“I feel that we’re on the proper path,” he provides. “We’re doing the proper issues, and the thrill that we carry within the Dash could be very clear, as a result of a number of promoters want to have them. So now it is a good second to see what’s the finest venue to have good motion, and likewise the very best place to be divided within the calendar to create the proper frequency.”
One other criticism when it comes to the way in which the game is growing is the transfer away from conventional racing circuits to avenue tracks, venues in vacation spot cities the place the nice and the gorgeous can attend, watch the race then take pleasure in a brief limo trip to the subsequent section of the leisure.
“I’d say we wish to be balanced,” he insists. “We do not wish to transfer from one aspect to the opposite aspect of the dimensions, however for us is it is essential to have good racing. I bear in mind one of many greatest criticisms that was on the desk earlier than the Las Vegas Grand Prix was, ‘Oh, come on, you may have a race the place there will likely be no overtaking, no drama, no motion, and so forth’. Really we proved that those that weren’t ready to talk till after the occasion have been completely fallacious. We had an unbelievable race.
“For positive it’s essential to respect the historic venues,” he provides. “However historic is just not every little thing; historic is an efficient base to take a position for the longer term.
“We aren’t anxious to seek out the proper answer, to have the proper leisure, the proper fan, and everybody can have a special opinion. There are drivers who love the everlasting tracks, others who like to attempt to drive within the cities. As I stated, the proper reply, as at all times, is to be balanced. And that will be my method, for positive.”
