Ecclestone's idea: “Each GP divided into two 40-minute races”

This is it new idea by Berne Ecclestone: the change in format would be expected Formula 1 races divided into two heats of 40 minutes each. It would be useful "to keep the attention of the public, especially the younger ones, high and to keep sponsors and advertising investors happy", this is the thought of the F1 boss. The latest born from Ecclestone's mind came following the numerous controversies over the excessive duration and poor organization and management of the Grand Prix of Brazil, I end up lasting about 3 hours between continuous interruptions, red flags and safety cars.

The 86-year-old head of the circus spoke about this initiative in an interview with Sunday Times: “The public has a much lower attention span, several sports have changed formats by introducing corrective measures that reduce the duration of matches. In Brazil the audience went up, there was a race with heavy rain, a couple of big accidents, but there were two starts due to red flags and people tuned in. We need to review the traditional concept of a single long race. Two 40 minute races, having a another 40 minute break in between to interview the drivers and work on the cars, they could be more attractive for spectators and sponsors. The cars would qualify on Saturday for Race 1 and on the basis of this draw up the starting grid for the second with lighter and faster single-seaters. But I don't know if we have the courage to change, times change and it's something we need to look at", he has declared.

Then a small comment on the regulations currently valid for F1, judged by Ecclestone to be excessively difficult: “The rule book should be titled 'Don't race': they are written in such a complicated way that no one, not even the drivers, know what the right thing to do is. Too many people complain on the radio at the first sign of pressure or contact, they are the first to be frustrated and so are the spectators and myself. It's crazy, today's rules slow down everything, they prevent riders from doing what comes naturally to them. We need to make it easier for the drivers to compete properly although I often wonder if these guys are there to race or just to drive an F1 car." concluded Ecclestone.

Fabiola Granier