Stefano Domenicali, after his first Gp with as F1 Ceo and chairman, has been interviewed by "Radio Anch'io lo Sport".

He began summing up the past race weekend, and highlighting the performances of Ferrari, Mercedes and Red Bull: "I think we've seen a way more competitive Ferrari than last years'. Mercedes and Red Bull are still on a slightly higher level than all the other teams, but the gap among the teams has been partially closed."

"The success of the first Bahrain GP has shown a great dynamicity on the track. I hope that at Imola already we will be able to see an extraordinary race."

A controversial topic in the past weeks has been the introduction of sprint races, with drivers and team principal declaring their approval or disapproval. The F1 Ceo has confirmed that the brand-new format will debut at Silverstone: "We're polishing the last details. We would like to have a way more intense weekend, with one hour of free practice on Friday, followed by the qualifying session for the sprint race, which results will decide the starting grid for the 'true' race on Sunday."

"We hope to define all details in time for the experimental round, which, i can confirm, should be held at Silverstone, and will return in the next season." he added.

Domenicali also talked about the race calendar, which at the moment features 23 races, 6 more than in the previous season, and a planned return to countries avoided in 2020 like Australia and the Usa because of covid restrictions. 

However, nothing's set in stone: "The main goal is to complete the longer and more complex season, with all the 23 Gps, we have to be ready to make changes along the way, of course we have alternative plans."

He also addressed the rumours of a return to the South Africa gp, denying it'll happen sin the next season already: "25 gps isn't a short term goal. South Africa wants to return, but we're in talks for the 2023 season, not 2022."