F1 cannot stop punching itself in the face and shorter races are the knockout blow

F1 Analysis

F1 cannot stop punching itself in the face and shorter races are the knockout blow

F1 is heading down a dark road

Dan Ripley Global Editor

Professional F1 journalist and analyst

Tuesday 22 September 2026 18:44

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They've only gone and done it. F1 have decided to make races shorter to provide yet another reason to point and laugh at this sorry state of a sport.

If you are just catching up to this farce, F1 have decided to reduces grand prix races from 305km to 290km. On average this is about three laps lost per race, possibly only two at a track like Spa-Francorchamps.

Now you may be thinking 'big deal, it's only three laps - basically less than five minutes', but that's not the point. Think of how you buy that Mars bar and it isn't as big as it used to be but still costs the same. This is F1 doing shrinkflation.

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Imagine doing this in another sport. How do you think fans around the world would react if those good eggs and totally not self-serving folks at FIFA decided World Cup football should only be 85 minutes long because hydration breaks are making the game too long.

Why are F1 making races shorter?

To an extent, this is what is happening in F1 - bad decisions leading to bad decisions. In F1's defence (for perhaps the only time in this rant), this wasn't their idea. This was the work of the F1 teams in reaction to the new rules for next year that require an increased fuel flow rate for the engine.

Stick with me for some small technical talk, I'll try to keep it simple - honest.

Right now we have a 50/50 power split between an Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) and battery power.

Next year though, F1 will increase fuel flow to help with a split of 53/47 in favour of the ICE (although with the fuel flow this will basically be 58/42). Another step will be taken in 2028 for a 60/40 arrangement.

Now, with refuelling banned long ago, teams already have to go a whole race on one tank of fuel, and more fuel means teams would have to fund development for bigger fuel tanks, hitting their cost cap budgets.

Rather than all the teams take a hit, of course F1's soul pays the price with a reduced race distance, except at Monaco of course which is already only 260km (more on that another day, folks).

We have a situation where one bad move after another has led to this really sad day for the sport.

F1's biggest stars including Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso have been outspoken on F1's current setup

F1's long list of wrong moves

Stopping refuelling in 2010 removed one strategy element from an F1 race. Moving away from V10 to V8 and then the loathed hybrid engines in 2014 stripped away the sound and essence of F1 that was not only ignored for so long but was leaned into further with the new 50/50 rules for this year as seen above... (they are also loathed).

Loathed so much that world champions Max Verstappen and Fernando Alonso seriously consider quitting and F1 is already walking back from it less than one year in.

Only now do we hear sounds from the FIA and F1 that maybe we should perhaps go back to V8 power units from 2030... 16 years after the awful mistake in the first place.

Then there is the cost cap, which perhaps has some merit for making sure we don't race away with just three big teams throwing around insane money in an extreme example, but at the same time has stifled the whole innovation of F1.

No refuelling, budget restrictions and silly engines have forced F1 into a dark hole I'm not too sure it comes back from.

The Abu Dhabi has offered nothing more than a artistic sunset to the season

F1's bad track record

Maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe you're sat there thinking 'hey Dan, maybe they'll just do the shortened races for one or two years and then put it back up to normal again'.

You know what, maybe you're right. But F1 doesn't have enough credit in the bank for me to trust them on that. When you have an organisation that appears to choose profit first over absolutely anything of sporting merit, I have doubts.

Look at how many racing countries such as France and Germany with iconic circuits have been replaced by soulless tracks in places of no motorsport heritage, or boring street circuits which even the F1 drivers knew would be boring before they even raced there. All in the name of money.

I mean, name a classic race at Abu Dhabi that doesn't involve scandal or Lewis Hamilton intentionally backing the pack up. Why is it still on the calendar, let alone the season finale?

Perhaps more closely look at the direction of F1. We will have 10 sprint races next year - we started off with three, then moved to six and now 10. It will be 24 before too long but they want to turn up that dial in an F1 equivalent of the totalitarian tiptoe.

F1 president Stefano Domenicali has outlined a problem with young people's attention span

F1 think races are 'too long for young people'

Now here is the kicker, read F1 president Stefano Domenicali's comments from a year ago, before this unfortunate scenario of the fuel flow rate landed in his lap.

"There's also the issue of the length of the competitions: we believe it's a bit too long for young people. We're seeing on many of our channels that highlights are very popular.

"Maybe for us, who were born with this format, it's fine as it is, but there's a large segment of the audience that only wants to see the highlights.

"Today, everything is going very well, but precisely for this reason, we mustn't rest on our laurels but think about what the next step will be."

Maybe F1 will walk this back in a couple of years. Given their track record I have serious doubts and they don't deserve the benefit of the doubt.

F1 in name will continue to go on, and will probably be down to 30-lap races in 20 years as people's attention spans start to align with a fruit fly.

But F1 in spirit will be dead, finally killed by greed and a desire to appeal to the masses and a fanbase that doesn't actually like the sport.

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Written by

Dan Ripley - Global Editor

I've been a massive F1 fan since the mid 1990s and continue to study the history of the sport long before that. As an experienced motor sport reporter covering F1, MotoGP and the LeMans 24 Hour race, being part of GPFans has allowed me to work with a diverse team with all sorts of different backgrounds in watching the sport and given me a greater appreciation of F1.

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F1 Stefano Domenicali