HUGE F1 race change is coming and will strengthen superpower

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HUGE F1 race change is coming and will strengthen superpower

This new concept could provide a greater thrill for fans

Daniel Austin

Saturday 5 October 2024 15:02

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It has been 41 years since Formula 1 ran its most recent non-championship race.

On an April afternoon at Brands Hatch, Keke Rosberg beat rivals including fellow F1 world champion Alan Jones and future title winner Nigel Mansell to the chequered flag, taking victory in a grand prix named the Race of Champions.

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The event was a one-off, a non-canon race which had no bearing on the 1983 world championship and indeed included some racers who were not even competing in the top tier of motorsport that season.

Since then, every single race run involving F1 machinery has counted towards the championship, as for a variety of reasons non-championship races lost popularity.

The extra cost, additional workload for team personnel, greater wear on car parts and inherent danger of an extra running in a less safe era meant that the concept was left in the past, meaning the vast majority of contemporary F1 fans have never seen a non-championship race take place.

But, from 2025, that could all change.

The Abu Dhabi track would host the F1 rookie race

What is the F1 rookie race?

Earlier this year, the idea was put forward to run a so-called ‘rookie race’ following the end of the 2024 season at the Yas Marina Circuit.

The event would follow the post-season test which comes after the campaign finale, and would be competed in by ten drivers – one racing each of the team’s 2024 cars – who have never held a full-time race seat in Formula 1.

The idea would be to allow young drivers who otherwise are only able to compete in the lower formulas the opportunity to demonstrate their talents in elite-level machinery, making a case to each of the teams that they should be given a seat in the future.

But for now, at least, the idea has been put on the backburner. A statement released by the FIA earlier this week following a meeting of the F1 Commission said: "While the concept [of a post-season rookie race] received widespread support, it was determined that, due to timing and organisational constraints, the event would not take place in 2024, and discussions would continue to formulate a potential concept and plan for 2025."

Issues including adding an additional race to the schedules of team staff, the risk of financial costs if a rookie were to crash a car, and the lack of set infrastructure for elements like broadcasting rights means that the race will not be run in 2024, but could be implemented at the end of next season or possibly later down the line.

The sporting logic for running a rookie race is clear - stand-in youngsters like Liam Lawson, Ollie Bearman and Franco Colapinto have all delivered immediately impressive performances after unexpectedly graduating to Formula 1 in the past year. And with only 20 seats available on the grid and so many far more experienced drivers already occupying them, allowing rookies a rare opportunity to make a proper case for themselves is fair.

Unexpected graduates to F1 like Franco Colapinto have impressed when given an opportunity

Would the F1 rookie race be a good idea?

The major reason that a rookie race could prove to be a huge boon to F1 goes beyond the sheer sport.

F1’s superpower since the 2017 takeover by Liberty Media has been personality marketing - giving fans greater insight into the minds, stories and emotions of the people beneath the racing helmets. Drive to Survive, greater social media access, and broadcast coverage around races are entirely underpinned by that concept.

Put simply, Liberty Media have rightly recognised that the highs and lows of these drivers’ lives are what makes more people care about motor racing. The more that fans feel they understand or relate to these drivers, the more engaged they are.

That is all well and good when an athlete has been around the top of their sport for years and their personality has already been understood by millions around the world. But it’s a tougher sell with somebody new.

Tennis has struggled with this issue in recent years as Roger Federer and Andy Murray have retired and Rafael Nadal has gradually faded away. The new crop of younger players - prior to the relatively new rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner - were both unable to match the performance level of their predecessors and in turn to captivate the attention of the audience to anything like the same degree.

A rookie race - if it does come off - will allow fans, teams, and the rights holder itself not just the opportunity to take a look at which youngsters seem quick, but to understand what role they may one day play in the F1 soap opera.

Not only could a rookie race bring back a fun quirk of F1’s distant past, it could also help bring forth the personalities and stories that will keep fans hooked for another generation.