Stefano Domenicali has revealed that Formula One bosses are considering shortening the duration of races out of fears that younger fans are turned off by longer events. The controversial idea was one of several surfaced by the series’ CEO ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.
“There’s the issue of race length,” Domenicali said. “We believe it’s a bit too long for younger viewers. We’re seeing on many of our channels that highlight reels are hugely popular – perhaps for those of us who grew up with the full format, it’s fine. But a large portion of the audience only wants to see the key moments.” Domenicali went on to add: “Things are going very well today, but precisely because of that, we shouldn’t rest on our laurels; we need to think about the next step forward.”
These comments sparked intense discussion across the sport’s diverse fanbase, with the overwhelming majority of fans supporting the current length of Grands Prix. This equates to approximately 90 minutes for the average race, putting F1 in line with football for duration.
This comparison was made by two-time world champion Fernando Alonso, who threw his weight behind the current system. “I will be in front of the TV when that happens, so I don’t know,” he said in Monza.
“I don’t think it’s a problem with the sport, so probably it’s not needed to change. 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-minute 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.”
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Haas star Esteban Ocon suggested a more pragmatic approach, shortening some of the longer events on the calendar, but retaining the length of the majority of races. “A Grand Prix is a big thing, and I’m a bit more into that,” he explained.
“I really like to wait a good amount of time to be excited again. I would agree 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.”