EX-FORMULA ONE star Juan Pablo Montoya has weighed in on the debate around controversial plans to radically change races.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali suggested shorter attention spans from younger viewers meant bosses were considering a dramatic change to shorten races in the future.
Shutterstock EditorialJuan Pablo Montoya has given his take on the debate of shortening F1 races[/caption]
AlamyIt comes after F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali revealed shorter attention spans were leading to an increase in demand for shorter formats[/caption]
Shutterstock EditorialThe 2026 Sprint race calendar was announced earlier this week[/caption]
Controversial plans including the scrapping of practice sessions, shorter races, increasing sprint events and reverse grids are all being considered.
The sprint calendar for the 2026 season was announced on Tuesday, with the British Grand Prix returning as one of the six races which will host a sprint race next season.
Sport bigwigs are in talks with the FIA, as well as teams and drivers, about expanding the sprint schedule and hope to possibly get up to a whopping 12 sprint races from 2027.
F1 cult hero Montoya, a seven-time race winner between 2001 and 2006, was supportive of the plan to make races more exciting, but urged bosses to avoid confusing fans with technical “gimmicks”.
Speaking to SunSport, via Jackpot City Casino, he said: “I agree, but it depends on the level of excitement of a race because sometimes you go to races where you can’t really pass too much and then it’s a long race and you’re thinking, ‘When is this going to be over.’
“I think the interesting thing is how those fans perceive the Sprint races. And if they’re finding the sprint races more attractive, then it makes sense for them to consider shorter races.
“Domenicali and Liberty understand that, whether the drivers want it or not, F1 is a show.
“And if the show is good, everybody is happy because the ratings are up, everything is up. If you don’t bring a good product, then it’s really difficult.”
BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK
Montoya, 49, confessed he originally viewed DRS – a system which boosts car speed in a straight line – as a “joke”, but admits it is a “gimmick that works”.
However, the Colombian warned new aspects such as “active wings” could bore fans, including his daughter.
He continued: “I think F1 is a really good product right now. Next year with the new cars, it’s going to be exciting.
“Hopefully the new rules are not too confusing for the fans. Now there’s not going to be DRS, but there will be active wings.
“Are people really going to be bothered by having active wings and things like that? For somebody like me, I’m going to find it really intriguing.
“But my 14-year-old daughter won’t. She loves racing but I don’t think she could care much if the wing is moving or not moving.
“That’s where they need to be careful. Yes, you need to be technically really advanced with the car that is the basis of F1. But you need to make it relevant.
“DRS is a gimmick to make racing better, but it’s a gimmick that works. When the DRS opens, people get excited, he’s going to pass. He’s got a shot at passing.
“When it was created, I looked at it like a joke. You’re making it easier for people that don’t have the ability to pass.”
The former Williams and McLaren star also urged F1 chiefs to find a way to “manipulate the tyres to make racing more interesting”.
He explained: “They need to figure out how to make a tyre, for example, a soft tyre that will deliver five or six amazing laps and then it’s going to go to hell.
“But those amazing laps will make enough of a difference for you to make a stop or do something different.
“That’s an uphill battle for Pirelli because every time you build a faster tyre or a softer tyre it’s more fragile. How do you build a faster tyre without it being fragile and without spending a crazy amount of money?
“Whatever you do though is going to p*** somebody off, especially the likes of Fernando [Alonso] and Lewis [Hamilton]; the guys who have been in the sport the longest.
“They’re so used to this F1 that it shouldn’t change. For me, I was lucky enough to do F1, do NASCAR, to do IndyCar, to do all kinds of racing.
“Then you understand that at the end of the day, the best way of racing is close racing and the better the show you can put for the fans, the better it is.
“Having Verstappen win at Monza had more value for F1 than all that McLaren have done all year.”
