Formula 1 teams seem to be in favor of a bold new concept for a sprint race exclusively for rookies, to be held in the week following the end of the 2024 season.
The sport's CEO, Stefano Domenicali, announced this week that F1 is looking to enhance the spectacle of the traditional post-season test in Abu Dhabi.
"Perhaps we will do a sprint race for young people," suggested the Italian.
With the F1 community now gathered at Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, more specifics of the proposal are starting to surface.
The current plan appears to involve giving the rookies a single practice session, followed by a qualifying round, and then a short grand prix-style race in the evening, after the standard test day is over.
Each team will have two cars available in Abu Dhabi, but the sprint race might only allow for one driver per team, creating a 10-car lineup. "20 cars would require extra planning," Aston Martin team manager Andy Stevenson explained to Auto Motor und Sport.
"A race with 20 cars would not really be possible until 2025 at the earliest," he added, noting that having 20 rookies all holding super licenses is currently not feasible.
It's also reported that teams are asking Formula One Management, led by Domenicali, for additional funding for the rookie sprint, or an adjustment to the budget cap.
There might also need to be financial considerations for TV broadcasters, as "without media interest, a race like this makes little sense," stated Sauber sporting director Beat Zehnder.
Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu also weighed in: "We all have to stay in Abu Dhabi anyway because of the tyre test. The winners would probably rather celebrate and the losers would rather go home as quickly as possible, but an additional race for the rookies would be a challenge for everyone that would make it worth staying behind for," the Japanese commented.
Team leaders are set to meet in Geneva next Wednesday to deliberate on the proposal further, before an electronic vote is conducted afterwards.
