Formula 1’s latest debate is revving up, and Fernando Alonso is not holding back. The two-time world champion has thrown a verbal haymaker at the idea of shorter Grands Prix, a concept floated by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali to cater to younger fans’ supposedly shrinking attention spans.
With the sport mulling more sprint races and tweaks to race lengths, Alonso, alongside heavyweights Max Verstappen and Esteban Ocon, has weighed in with a mix of defiance, pragmatism, and a touch of nostalgia.
At the heart of the matter is Domenicali’s suggestion that F1 could trim race durations on Sunday to keep younger audiences glued to their screens.
Alonso, however, isn’t buying it, comparing F1 to football, saying distractions don’t mean the sport should change.
"I will be in front of the TV when that happens, so, I don't know. I don't think it's a problem with the sport, so probably it's not needed to change," Alonso told reporters at Monza on Thursday.
"But Stefano knows better than anyone, so if he thinks that if it's needed, we are in good hands in this kind of decisions with him.
"Football matches are a little bit long; when I sit in front of the TV, I'm not watching the 90 minutes concentrated. I go to the kitchen, go back, I mean there is always some moments of distraction.
"But no one is talking about having 60 minutes football matches or something like that. It's a problem of the society and the kids, but not the sport, so probably it's not needed to change."
Verstappen: Sprint Races “Crazy Enough”
Alonso isn’t alone in his caution. Four-time world champion Max Verstappen, a strong opponent of change, echoed the sentiment, saying F1’s current sprint race format is already intense.
"Yes, I see the positives. People are making more money," Verstappen said. "But for me personally, I mean, I’ve talked about it many times. You know my opinion about it. But I also understand why they do it. To also make it a more exciting product on the day.
"Because I can understand, of course, when fans come to the track, it’s more exciting to see cars race than just lap around in practice. For us, it’s still very important to have practice. But I understand from a fan’s point of view that it can be a bit boring.
"But F1 has been like this since the 1950s. So I understand that sports evolve and stuff like that. But we shouldn’t go too crazy. I think a sprint race is already, from my side, crazy enough.
"You all know how I think about sprint races, but the [current] length of the race, I think it’s fine. I mean, yeah, sometimes one and a half hours, sometimes closer to [two].”
The Dutchman also took a philosophical jab at the push for constant excitement.
"In other sports as well, sometimes you have an exciting game, sometimes absolutely boring and you fall asleep,” he added. “That’s sport for you – you cannot always make it exciting, because if it’s always exciting, it becomes boring too."
Ocon Offers a Measured Perspective
Haas driver Esteban Ocon took a more nuanced view, suggesting that while most races shouldn’t be shortened, some longer events like Singapore could be slightly reduced without harming the spectacle.
"A lot has been tried. I think it's good that we get consulted a little bit in this with Stefanon,” commented the Frenchman.
"But my opinion is that there's no need to make a big change about what we have. I think going to a MotoGP stage would be a bit extreme for sure, to have a sprint weekend at every race.”
He pinned the drive for more action on today’s consumer culture.
"And I don't think necessarily the show will be much better for sure. As a fan, what you want to see is more racing. We live in such a consumer world now that we want to see more spectacle, more show, and more frequently.
"When we are on Netflix and you know we see a series we are like 'it's too long to wait for season two'. That's basically how the world is now.
"But it's also nice to wait patiently and expect the race. A grand prix is a big thing and I'm a bit more into that, I really like to wait a good amount of time to be excited again.
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"I would agree with, with Stefano that maybe some of the races are a bit long – let's say the ones that are, you know, more than two hours or like Singapore or stuff like that.
“Maybe shortening a little bit, it would not make any difference to the spectacle of the show, but that's how it's been historically for so long. But [shortening] a race like Monza or a race like Spa, that would be too short."
As F1 grapples with balancing its storied legacy against the demands of a fast-scrolling, TikTok-obsessed audience, the voices of Alonso, Verstappen, and Ocon highlight a deeper tension.
The sport’s traditionalists argue that Grand Prix racing doesn’t need a radical overhaul to stay relevant. Yet, with Domenicali eyeing ways to boost F1’s global appeal, including more sprint races and potentially shorter Sundays, the debate is far from over.
Will F1 stick to its roots or shift gears for the next generation? For now, Alonso’s words ring loudest: it’s not the sport that’s the problem – it’s the world around it.
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