Speaking on The Race podcast, Domenicali revealed he will raise the idea with teams, drivers and the FIA as part of broader talks on the future of sprint weekends.
Reverse grids – used in junior categories such as Formula 2 and Formula 3 – have long been a divisive concept in F1, but he believes attitudes have shifted.
“I do believe there are possibilities to extend two things, which we need to discuss, both with the drivers and the teams, and, of course, with the FIA,” Domenicali said.
“There are: can we apply that [sprint schedules] with more races? And is this the right formula to have the possibility to have a reversed grid, as we are doing with F2 and F3? These are points of discussion.
“I think that we are getting there to be mature to make sure that this point will be tackled seriously with the teams.
“The vibes to progress in this direction are definitely growing, and therefore I’m ready to present and to discuss not only more sprints…but if there are new formats, new ideas.”
Domenicali said F1 must be willing to experiment despite past resistance from drivers and fans – with four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel famously labelling the concept “complete bullshit” in 2019.
“We are open for that, because I think that’s the right thing – to listen to our fans, to try to create something, and not to be worried to do mistakes,” Domenicali said.
“The one who believes to do no mistakes doesn’t do anything new.”
F1 introduced sprints at three events in 2021 before increasing to six per season from 2023.
Domenicali sees them as a permanent fixture and a growth area, not least because promoters are pushing for them to boost Friday attendance.
“I’m ready to discuss … more sprints, and this is what I see as a request from the promoters who want to have it because … they want to change the number [of attendees] on Friday,” he said.
“But ready to discuss if there are new formats, new ideas? We are open for that.”
And while MotoGP has adopted sprints at every round, Domenicali ruled out matching that overnight.
“I’m not saying no, but I think that between six and 24, we have to do steps into the middle,” he said.
The Italian also stressed that the 24-race grand prix calendar is already close to his preferred limit.
“That is the right number that is sustainable from the commercial and also from this point in perspective,” he said.
“We have only 24 races. Football has 70 games. Baseball, 165 games, every day on TV. So to generate content to be attractive with only, I would say, 24 races, is a massive task.”
Domenicali also pointed to the potential for closer ties with MotoGP following Liberty Media’s acquisition of Dorna Sports, the commercial rights holder for the motorcycle world championship.
“I think that it’s a good opportunity for our shareholders to have the two top platforms of the motorsport world,” he said. “Our duty is to make sure that we give our experience to our fans of Dorna.
“And we can also learn something from them, because what I hate is to think that we are the best and the others are not the best.
“So, we’re going to share a lot of information, we’re going to make sure that everyone is… the entire way of managing the business is able to learn.
“And definitely, there will be synergies that we can work together in which we develop.”
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