McLaren 'open' to huge grand prix weekend changes

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has stated he is open to the prospect of completely revamping the format of grand prix weekends.

F1 introduced sprint races during the 2021 campaign, originally at three per season.

That has now increased to six in a campaign and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has suggested the sport could look at boosting the number even higher in the coming years.

The sprint races have come amid the sport's boom in popularity, aided by the hit Netflix docu-series Drive To Survive.

Stella praised the work F1 has conducted in recent years to get to the sport into a position of strong growth.

“First of all, let me take the opportunity to praise the work done by Formula 1, by Stefano and the F1 management because they have certainly led the growth of the business, which we all benefit from,” Stella told media including RacingNews365.

“We all have a responsibility to sustain this journey that F1 as an overall business is going through. 

“As part of this responsibility, we need to be open to reinventing ourselves if this is needed to sustain this growth. 

“The success of the Formula 1 business at the moment should not be taken for granted. Not all sports are having this kind of success across the board.”

Also on the agenda for change is the prospect of reverse grid races, which would signal one of the most radical shifts in F1 history.

While Stella asserted there must be some protection given to the sport's DNA, the Italian signalled the importance of being content with reviewing such dramatic alterations.

“We understand also that the fandom has changed, and it could be that there's a need to review the way we approach free practice, the way we approach the entire race weekend,” he said 

“I think we have to be open to that. 

“Obviously, we will try to be reasonable, we will try and protect some elements of the DNA of Formula 1, but definitely, I think it's part of our responsibility to contribute. 

“This is something we discussed recently in the F1 Commission, and it’s always going to be at the top of the agenda.