Axed FIA steward proposes radical change to historic F1 race

A radical change to the iconic F1 race the Monaco Grand Prix has been suggested by a former FIA race steward.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali caused a stir when he seemed to hint at the need to make races shorter.

“There’s the issue of race length: we believe it’s a bit too long for younger viewers," he said ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.

"We’re seeing on many of our channels that highlight reels are hugely popular; perhaps for those of us who grew up with the full format it’s fine, but a large portion of the audience only wants to see the key moments.''

"Things are going very well today, but precisely because of that, we shouldn’t rest on our laurels; we need to think about the next step forward," he added.

Domenicali has since clarified his comments in an interview with The Observer, stating: “I never said we need to cut the distance of the race.

"What I’m saying is that the span of attention of the people today is very short, so we need to be attractive.

''We need to understand if the format of racing is the right one or not. It could be longer or shorter. Every idea has to be considered.”

Monaco GP change proposed

But former FIA race steward Johnny Herbert has suggested that the Monaco Grand Prix could benefit from a major overhaul.

"Monaco is maybe another one, where a shorter race could work better. I think it would intensify it and thereby produce even better races than we've got today," he told Racing Tipster.

"I do agree with him [Domenicali] because I think there are races that are far too long. I remember when I was doing my TV stuff, when you looked at the TV figures, they're there at the beginning, there's a drop off in the middle, and then they come back at the end for the climax.

"But if you squeeze that, then I think you'll get the attention from the viewer there throughout, because you can't go away, because there is potential for something to happen.

"If there is a sprint race weekend, could you have two races of a similar distance. Maybe that's another way of doing it at the same time and that may be more appealing to those race fans."

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