The F1 president strongly indicated the current total of six sprint weekends per season is set to rise, with Sky Sports reporting the figure could increase to nine or 10 next year.
Speaking at Silverstone, where the British Grand Prix hosted the fourth sprint weekend of the 2026 season, Domenicali said the format had proven its value after initial resistance when it was first introduced.
“If you remember in the beginning, people were always sceptical of what we’re doing, and I think that we have the duty to be, in a way, brave and to think out of the box,” Domenicali told Sky Sports.
“I think you see the effect. With the [150,000] people we had on Friday at Silverstone, if you don’t give something that has an action, it would be wrong.
“Therefore, I think that this is the way to go. We are in the process of announcing the bigger number for the future and this will come when we announce the calendar very, very soon. Stay tuned.”
The sprint format was introduced in 2021 with three events, a number that remained in place for 2022 before F1 expanded the concept to six weekends from 2023.
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That figure has remained unchanged since, with this year’s sprint races held in China, Miami, Canada and the United Kingdom so far, while the Netherlands and Singapore are due to stage the remaining two.
Unlike a conventional grand prix weekend, the sprint format gives teams just one practice session before sprint qualifying on Friday, with the 100km sprint race taking place on Saturday ahead of qualifying for the grand prix itself.
F1 has continued to refine the format since its debut, with Domenicali repeatedly backing the concept as a way to give fans meaningful on-track action across all three days of a race weekend.
The expected increase would mark the most significant expansion of the format since 2023 and would bring almost half the calendar under the alternative weekend structure if F1 settles on nine or 10 sprint rounds.
Max Verstappen has been the most successful driver since sprints were introduced, winning 13 of them.
Lando Norris has claimed four sprint wins, while Oscar Piastri and George Russell have each won three.
F1 has not yet confirmed which events will host sprint races in 2027, though Domenicali suggested the increase will be announced alongside next year’s calendar.
The 2027 schedule is already set to include the return of the Portuguese Grand Prix and Turkish Grand Prix, while the Dutch Grand Prix will drop off the calendar after this year.
Barcelona is also set to move into a rotational slot with Belgium, with its next appearance expected in 2028.
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