Formula One chief-executive Bernie Ecclestone has revealed his latest radical plan for the sport.
He reckons F1 would attract more fans if the traditional weekend schedule was scrapped in favour of a new, shorter format.
Instead of one long race, Ecclestone reckons two separate 40-minute races would provide more entertainment for supporters and drag in new viewers.
Sports such as cricket and rugby have benefited from introducing shorter forms of their sport, with Twenty20 and rugby sevens proving popular due to their compact formats.
Ecclestone said the time in between the two 40-minute races could be used to interview drivers – a feature he believes would be attractive to viewers.
(Photo: Lars Baron)
Ecclestone told the Sunday Times: “People have a much shorter attention span and a lot of sports are looking at introducing shorter forms of their games.
“We need to look at the traditional concept of one long race. Two 40-minute races with a 40-minute break in the middle when the drivers could be interviewed, cars worked on, would be attractive to viewers, the TV companies, the sponsors and advertisers would love it.”
The 86-year-old added that the qualifying format would stay the same, with the fastest qualifier starting the first race on pole and the winner of the first race starting the second on pole.
“I don’t know if we have the courage to change,” Ecclestone added. “Times change though and it is something we must look at.
“All American sports have time-outs built in, mainly because American audiences can’t concentrate. They grow up with everything in 15-minute segments on TV. People are the same everywhere now.”
