Haas F1 team principal Ayao Komatsu has come out strongly against suggestions of shorter races on Sunday afternoon, as well as reverse grid races for Sprints.
In separate interviews this month, Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali has talked about the short attention spans of viewers watching the sport, the big numbers for highlights on social media, and even a possibility of shorter Sunday races in the future.
Ayao Komatsu firmly against the idea of shorter F1 Grands Prix
With over two decades in the sport, Haas team principal Komatsu is one of the longest serving people working in it. He has moved his way up from a tyre engineer at BAR to the biggest role at Haas outside of the drivers.
Overtaking has been and always will be difficult in Formula 1. As the Japanese engineer explained in a print media session at Monza, creating tyres that allow for various strategies and multiple stops in a Grand Prix is critical for good action.
“I think a proper Grand Prix race on Sunday, I think 300km is actually part of the DNA of F1. This is my personal opinion, not even a Haas F1 team opinion.
“We’ve got Sprint races which is 100km, which is fine, but I think Sunday race, if the tyre strategy is correct, it’s not one-stop, it’s somewhere between at least one or two stops, but ideally for me it’s more like two versus three stops.
“And then the circuit, as long as we’ve got the tyre difference, you can overtake. Look at Bahrain, when you’ve got three stops versus two stops, it’s just action happening everywhere, all the way through 300km. And I think it’s actually very interesting.
“But of course if you’ve got a boring one-stop race, everybody stops on lap 15 or something, nothing else happens, it’s boring.
“But to me, it’s just as long as we’ve got the tyre side right, and then I think for me Formula 1 DNA is that 300km race, but that’s my personal opinion.”
Ayao Komatsu does not want to see reverse grid Sprint races in F1
There is a strong possibility more Sprint races will be added to the schedule come 2027. Earlier today the venues for the six 2026 Sprints got confirmed.
Alongside the possibility of as many as 12 Sprints in a couple of years from now, there is a growing belief that reverse grids could also be a part of them. It could be the top 10 reversed, or even the whole grid.
Haas would be one of the team to benefit from such a scenario on a regular basis. However, Komatsu is against it in no uncertain terms. He once again cited the DNA of the sport where reverse grid races and balance of performance between different cars and engines has never been a thing.
“I mean, I’m personally not a fan of reverse grids. Again, I don’t think it’s the DNA of Formula 1.
“We’re not doing a balance of performance either, so I think once Formula 1 goes into that direction, I think it could be quite dangerous.
“But again, that’s just my personal opinion.”
Not many discussions between team bosses and the F1 CEO on race lengths
Asked if reverse Sprint grids and F1 race lengths have been discussed in commission meetings, Ayao Komatsu says reverse Sprint ones have been. Race lengths on a Sunday, however, not so much.
“To be honest, I can’t remember talking about race lengths, I can’t remember when’s the last time we spoke about it. And then in terms of reverse grids, I remember discussion was some time ago. I think it was just a mixed feeling.
“And, to be honest, it’s not something that’s at the forefront of my mind every day, so when I meet with these other guys, it’s not something I discuss. So I haven’t discussed about this for a long, long time.”
