F1 CEO casts doubt on future of Chinese GP. Formula One has returned to China for the first time in five years and on the twentieth anniversary of the circuits inaugural race, the debate over the future of the event has begun. The Chinese promoters have another year to run on their current contract but F1 boss Stefano Domenicali revealed after the Sprint its not certain Shanghai will remain on the calendar.
When asked whether there was a mutual agreement to extend the deal with the Shanghai International Circuit, Domenicali was candid.“For sure the appetite is there and the good news is that its not only Shanghai that would like of course for us to stay, but there are other options that that really want to present their candidacy to have a race in China.”
Hong Kong GP option
The man heading up Liberty Media’s investment in F1 was quick to make the point that its only in recent times when the sport has a waiting list of promoters and venues. When suggested maybe Beijing throw its hat in the ring, Domenicali dismissed the idea out of hand.
“Beijing I would have to say no, but we have places that are close to Hong Kong. Hong Kong sure – but I will say there are other areas of China and this part of the world, so its all good.”
With the circuit now 20 years old, F1 will be keen to ensure the promoters make the wear and tear upgrades to the facility necessary. The track surface itself has begun to show signs of deterioration and for this year’s race a new sealant was applied to the asphalt.
The thinking is clear, if Shanghai is offered a contract extension then the entire track will be fully resurfaced for 2025, but if not then it will remain 3-4 seconds a lap slower than before the painted sealer was applied.
Shanghai circuit capacity not troubled
Domenicali was bullish over the atmosphere in China as the main grandstand tickets sold out in just 30 minutes. Yet the circuit capacity of 200,000 will not be troubled, with just 60,000 fans having purchased advance tickets for each of the three days.
The F1 boss is adamant he will do all in his power to ensure the lack of cars on track as seen in Japan is something F1 must avoid at all costs.
“Yesterday for the qualifying Sprint in the incredible conditions, we had a lot of running,” said the Italian. “That reminds us we have a duty to make sure that every day there is some action on the track, to respect the fans who are coming here because they want to have fun.”
“For sure what I do want in the discussion is we need to avoid any possibility to have a situation like Japan with cars not running. This is not good for people that are coming to see the drivers and I’m sure that the teams will understand – so we need to find solutions.”
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More Sprint weekends
When suggested to Domenicali this should mean scheduling even more Sprint weekends each season, the F1 chief was categoric. “Why not, why not. I would say this is great, keep the tension on every day, and this is something we will discuss in the future. Now let’s see how this year with the Sprint in the way we have decided to go.”
However, when Domenicali called for the Sprint weekends to be increased from three to six, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem blocked the move for 12 months, until F1 delivered more budget for the extra FIA work required.
This year sees the biggest F1 calendar ever with 24 races scheduled from March until December and the debate continues over how many events is too many? The current Concorde Agreement allows for up to 25, but the F1 boss reveals there are no plans to increase the number further.
“Yes I think 24 is an optimum number with the event we have so far. It was a responsibility to the teams and the promoters and everyone to announce the calendar much earlier this year than we do – for everyone to be ready – and there has been another step in the direction of trying to regionalise the calendar.
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“In think that 24 is better than 12 and could be even better than 42…. I’m joking you know…. I think that errr… If you want to drive, you can drive every day. If you don’t want to drive in Formula One its not compulsory. Its a matter off respecting the fans.
“They want to see them racing and its something again we have the responsibility of all our fans, our partners, our promoters, of our sponsors, our broadcasters, of everyone is the magic of the sport we live in is because we need heroes to enjoy what they’re doing.”
Each of the teams have been developing a rotation system for their track side crew and even Sky F1 are now doing similar for their senior presenters. David Croft who has commentated on every F1 race since he joined the broadcaster announced this year he will be sitting out three of the twenty four events.
Sky pundit and ex-F1 racer Karun Chandhok thinks the number of events is already too many. “I still think 20 is a good number to have. You do get to a point when they come thick and fast and its difficult for fans to commit to watching all of it.
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“But you know, 24 is what we’ve got and its going to be a tough season and everyone is going to have to manage their well being and energy levels.”
Max Verstappen was imperious in the Saturday morning Sprint event, although it took him ten laps to come from fourth to first. The world champion then blitzed the rest of the field with lap times over a second quicker than anyone else which resulted in a 13 second gap to Hamilton in P2, when the chequered flag fell.
The Red Bull driver has been outspoken in his criticism of Sprint weekends, stating after the 2023 USA event in Texas, “we should scrap the whole thing.”
Verstappen did however agree, the new parc ferme rules which allow the cars to be worked on after the Sprint race, is a positive step in the right direction.
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