F1 boss calls for 48-race season

Domenicali closest to camera but out of focus in white shirt walking next to Briatore in blue and pink Alpine kit — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 boss calls for 48-race season

This is a wild idea

Kerry Violet F1 News Editor

F1 editor and journalist covering motorsport since 2024.

Sunday 2 August 2026 16:42

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Alpine boss Flavio Briatore has shared his lofty ambition to have 48 races on the F1 calendar in total, claiming it would give the stars of the grid, 'something to drive for.'

The executive advisor to the Enstone-based F1 squad made a shock comeback to the sport in 2024 having watched from the sidelines for 15 years thanks to receiving a lifetime ban from F1 over the 2008 Crashgate scandal.

In 2010 however, his return to the paddock was effectively cleared on paper after a French court overturned the ban, and though he did not return to the grid until 14 years later, he continues to make a splash with his brutal honesty and wild ideas about how to switch up the championship.

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One of Briatore's core philosophies is that F1 should place entertainment value high up on the priority list, something that has certainly been helped by Liberty Media's takeover of the sport.

The 2026 season was scheduled to have 24 rounds, that's six more than Briatore's final season with Renault in 2008.

Under the current calendar format there are also six sprint races for fans to look forward to which have once again been reshuffled to give tracks like Silverstone a chance to return to the sprint calendar.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali even suggested earlier this year that the amount of sprint races could be doubled in future, but Briatore wants to go one step further.

Briatore: We need sprints at every F1 race weekend

Speaking to The Race podcast in an episode released during the 2026 summer break, Briatore shared his idea to severely bulk out the F1 calendar, revealing that he thinks every grand prix weekend should also have a sprint event.

"I think we need to do sprint races, if it was up to me, every race," said Briatore.

The 76-year-old then claimed that it was the best interests of the fanbase that sat at the heart of his opinion, stating that on a traditional race weekend format, not enough is done to entertain the spectators.

"Because then you give something more to the spectators, because we do nothing for the spectator because Friday morning is only technical," he continued.

"You go for two laps, you come back...After Saturday morning, after you have the qualifying and that’s finished, you have the race.

"With the sprint race, at least you have two races, two starts, and the driver is driving for something. He's not driving only for the engineering. And for me, we need to have the sprint race, 24 races, 24 sprint races."

Ok Flavio, got it. Just the 48 races in total then!

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