While Formula 1 wanted to double its number of sprint races this season, from three events to six, the championship had to find a compromise following the reluctance expressed by certain teams regarding the costs caused by this increase. Thus, there are once more three sprint races this season, the first having taken place in Imola last month.
A few days following the event in Italy, the F1 Commission met to put the subject of the sprint back on the table. Although Liberty Media, owner of the championship, has campaigned to move to six sprint events for the 2023 seasonwith the support of the teams, no agreement might be reached since the FIA opposed it.
While Mohammed Ben Sulayem has indicated that he wishes to take the time to consider the impact of these additional races on FIA staff, some voices from the paddock have suggested that the decision of the federation’s new president was primarily motivated by the issue of expenditure, while his mission is to better balance the accounts of the governing body.
Speaking on the subject for the first time, Ben Sulayem nevertheless denied that the FIA had vetoed it in order to obtain better financial guarantees. “I didn’t ask for more money but if I had, I would have wanted to use it in the right way: to invest in the right rules for F1”he told the Daily Mail. “They say F1 is the pinnacle, and it’s true, so we at the FIA need the resources to govern the technical and financial side of a billion dollar sport in a way that respect that.”
“We have to be able to meet those standards. So specifically with the sprints, I have to see if my team on the pitch can handle the extra workload that those races will bring.”
Mohammed Ben Sulayem
“After Abu Dhabi [en 2021], people said we should change this or that. So I don’t understand why we would ask the FIA team to do more. If an incident occurs in the future, the kind that involves a Safety Car, what happens next? We have to look at all of this and make a reasonable decision. Let us run our operations, we’ll sort it out.”
Ben Sulayem also said he would agree to increase the number of sprints in 2023, provided the FIA sees no problem. “I support the races if it’s the right thing to do”he added. “I’m not saying it’s the bad thing, I’m saying we have time to judge that. It’s for 2023, not this season. Our house is not burning down.”
“We have what is called a democracy: Formula 1 has a vote, the teams have a vote, I have a vote. If you say that I cannot abstain or take the time to study the proposals , then you don’t give me the freedom of democracy.”
