Toto Wolff defends FIA president with call for more 'scrutiny' before F1 changes are made

Toto Wolff has defended FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem for wanting to do more "homework" before increasing the number of sprints in F1. The format was introduced to the sport last year with three sprints held at Silverstone, Monza and Interlagos.

The Saturday race proved to be a popular addition for fans and drivers also appeared to like the new format. Last year, just three points were on offer to whoever won the sprint, with second and third picking up two and one respectively.

That has since been increased significantly this year with the sprint winner picking up eight points and the driver finishing eighth taking one championship point. There are still just three sprints on the 2022 calendar, with Interlagos the only track to retain the one from last year. Imola has already hosted the first sprint while the second will be held at the Red Bull Ring.

F1 bosses had originally hoped to introduce six sprints for the 2022 season after several teams blocked the expansion on cost grounds. There is now seemingly a good chance of six sprints being introduced next year following a meeting last month, although Ben Sulayem made it clear the FIA were still "evaluating the impact" on what that would cause.

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The FIA statement read: "With the first of three sprint events of the 2022 season popular with fans and stakeholders last weekend at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Formula One and the teams were supportive of an extension to six sprint events for the 2023 season, running with the same format as in 2022. While supporting the principle of an increased number of sprint events, the FIA is still evaluating the impact of this proposal on its trackside