F1 rules out reverse grids, but sprint races back on agenda

Here we go again! Formula 1's chiefs have wisely dismissed once and for all resorting to reverse grids to spice up the show, but the concept of a Saturday sprint race is back on the agenda.

The two novel ideas were tabled ahead of last year's coronavirus-impacted season, with F1 keen to use the disrupted campaign to experiment at certain venues.

But in the end, due to a clear lack of support by teams, no innovative approaches ever found their way into a race weekend. But F1 boss Stefano Domenicali is still open to new ideas to boost the show and entertain the fans, although a reverse grid format has been completely discarded.

"Reverse grid is over. That’s something I can tell you," Domenicali said, speaking to the media on Thursday.

"It’s important to think maybe of new ideas to be more attractive or interesting, but we don’t have to lose the traditional approach of racing.

"I think that what we learned when we were changing the qualifying every two days was something that has burned our fingers. So we need to avoid that, and therefore now I think that the format is quite stable."

• Read also: Is Bahrain set for another double-header?

Despite the format's stability, Domenicali still sees a potential opportunity to trial a Saturday sprint race concept at some point this season.

"What we’re looking at is what could be the approach of the so-called sprint race on a Saturday," he explained.

"We are thinking if this could be tested already this year. There are discussions going on with the teams in the right forum, and I think that maybe this could be the only one thing that could be interesting."

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