Montreal ’open’ to Saturday sprint race idea

Canadian GP promoter Francois Dumontier is "open" to Formula 1’s plan to trial a new Saturday sprint race format this season.

Alongside Monza and Brazil, Montreal has been mentioned in connection with new F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali’s weekend shakeup trial for 2021.

Media reports suggest that at these races, there will be one hour of practice before qualifying on Friday, followed by a one-hour sprint race on Saturday involving championship points.

Ahead of a vote on the matter at the F1 Commission on Thursday, a source is quoted by Auto Motor und Sport: "If it works, we’ll go in that direction. If it doesn’t, we’ll forget about it."

Montreal promoter Dumontier says he is supportive of the plan.

"We did have discussions in this regard," he confirmed to Le Journal de Montreal newspaper.

"We are very open to seeing this project happen - on the condition of course that the Canadian GP can take place," Dumontier added, referring to the covid-related uncertainty.