Formula 1 teams discussed to replace qualifying for some grand prix with a 30-minute sprint race with the drivers in a reverse championship order. The attempt was unsuccessful as Mercedes and Racing point blocked the proposal.

By contrast, speaking to RaceFancs, Mattio Binotto stated that Ferrari considered the initiative as a good opportunity to try alternative ways to attract the audience. In the lights of the exceptional circumstances of the F1 2020 season, the Italian Manager claimed that teams should experiment with format changes to improve the Formula 1 offer.

“We believe that 2020 will be a difficult season anyhow,” Binotto explained. “It’s a season that should have started in Australia, didn’t start in Australia, we start only in July. There are less races, some races on the same circuit: Austria-Austria, UK-UK.

“I think that we need still to try to attract our fans. We need still to make sure that for the future of the F1 we are creating the best show. And I think that [having] the sprint race only on the second race weekend on the same circuit would have been a solution.

“We can even consider that 2020 would have been the right test platform eventually for an alternative solution for the future.”

Mattia Binotto, remarked that Ferrari was supportive of the proposal for the sake of the championship and the Formula 1 show, despite the competitive disadvantages for his team. The Ferrari’s boss underlined that accepting compromises is a matter of responsibility towards the entire Formula 1 community.

“It’s a matter of a sense of responsibility towards our community that sometimes we need to accept compromising our true performance for trying to do something, going in the right direction for the show itself and for the entire F1 and motorsport.

“As Ferrari I think we accepted a lot of compromises. For example, freezing development, freezing components while we know that at the moment we are certainly not the most competitive car.

“If I would have looked only at Ferrari, I would have said no reduction on the budget cap and freedom in development, no freezings, because we need to develop as much as we can.

“But at the end, we understand the implications. We understand what the current situation I think we come to to a compromise which is great for the sport eventually, not for ourselves.

“The sprint race, most of all the teams except one or two were in favour. F1 [were] in favour, FIA in favour. I think it’s a shame that we’re not coming to it because it’s again certainly a compromise, it’s a responsible choice.”