Overview

• James Vowles called for Saturday–Sunday race weekends with reduced practice to create capacity for additional Grands Prix.
• He estimates that dropping two of the three free-practice sessions would return about 24 working days to teams across a season.
• The plan has not been adopted and will be brought to the F1 Commission, where any approval would hinge on revised promoter fee structures.
• Promoters caution that Fridays generate substantial revenue, and F1 leadership previously treated 24 races as the workable season limit.
• Team reactions diverged, with Aston Martin’s Andy Cowell pointing to 2026 technical changes and Alpine’s Steve Nielsen preferring less practice and more racing; six sprint events are already confirmed for 2026.