F1 in ‘strong place' with “so many requests to host a GP”

A draft record-breaking 23-race schedule for 2022 was released by F1 on Friday, including a first-ever race in Miami and the return of the Australian, Canadian, Singapore and Japanese grands prix. 

The addition of an inaugural Miami GP follows the inclusion of new races in Qatar and Saudi Arabia on the revised 2021 calendar. 

“Next year will see the arrival of a new experience in Miami,” Domenicali wrote in his latest column on the official F1 website.

“And that comes after the addition of two new venues in Qatar and Saudi Arabia this year. To have three new events in the space of six months shows the sport is in a strong place.”

Domenicali hinted that “some other good news” relating to the F1 calendar beyond next year would be announced soon, something he insists highlights the high level of interest the sport has received from other regions of the world. 

A return to Africa - which last hosted a round of the world championship in South Africa in 1993 - is considered a priority for F1, as is potentially adding a third race in the United States. 

“Regarding the future beyond 2022, there will be some other good news coming out soon, which I don’t want to spoil by saying now,” Domenicali said. 

“We are going in the right direction and have reached a point where we can choose where F1 will go in the future.

“We have so many requests to host a Grand Prix. It shows our platform is attractive with more and more governments seeing it as an opportunity to develop their businesses, local economy and awareness of their community. Exciting times ahead.”

F1 sprint format needs ‘fine tuning’ 

F1 is expected to increase the number of sprint qualifying events next season, with Domenicali revealing earlier this month that up to a third of races on the 2022 calendar could include the format. 

Sprint qualifying has already been trialed at Silverstone and Monza so far this year, with a third event scheduled for the Sao Paolo Grand Prix at Interlagos in November. 

Providing a further update about the plans in his column, Domenicali said F1 is currently working through “some fine tuning” to the current format, which has led to several requests from venues eager to host sprint qualifying next season. 

“We are pleased with the learnings from the first two F1 Sprints,” Domenicali added. “What is clear is that it changes the dynamic of the weekend but we want to wait until the last test in Brazil and then prepare the right package for the future.

"The highlight must be the format of the weekend. Starting from Friday, action mode is fully engaged. It’s why the promoters are happy. We have received requests from a lot of promoters to host the Sprint.

“From a sporting perspective, we have seen that the less time you have to practice, the more unpredictable the action is on track in qualifying and the race. There is some fine tuning we need to do – but we are working through that now.

“It’s always easy to be negative and not change but we push to go in this direction because we see the enthusiasm from young generation and the wider interest from those around the world.”