Ferrari boss confirms change to F1 qualifying format in 2020

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto says teams have agreed to hold an additional race on Formula 1 weekends from next year, which will impact on qualifying.

Liberty Media have previously been reported to have investigated adding a sprint race to the F1 calendar, as is held in Formula 2.

Although F1 is yet to confirm any changes to the race weekend programme, Binotto says all teams have agreed to the major change.

Asked if he was in favour of experimenting with a 'mini race' to decide qualifying on Saturdays, Binotto told Gazzetta dello Sport: "All the teams said yes. Including us. Therefore in 2020 it will be done."

Looking further ahead of 2021, when Liberty's regulation shake-up will come into force, Binotto suggested that finding common ground on the technical rules to be drafted is still to be found.

"Two concepts must be clear," he said. "F1 must remain a platform where technological competition exists.

"This is the only reason why Ferrari invests in it. We don't like any attempt to make the cars all the same. Standard parts can create reliability problems, such as clutch in F2.

"It must also remain a discipline in which the best wins. Trying to mix the cards is wrong. Ours is not a show, it is a sport.

"The regulation that we will vote in October will be the starting point for continuing to discuss and improve."

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