54: Why Imola's Two-Day Format Is Important For F1

Liberty Media is reworking the formula of Formula 1. At the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola, the sport will trial a two-day race format - Free Practice x 1 + Qualifying on Saturday followed by the race on Sunday. While fans might not like a format that offers one less day of on-track action, the two-day format is actually an important experiment for the future of Formula 1. First, the compressed format offers savings in terms of time and costs. Second, it offers far lesser track time for teams and drivers to collect data. If the experiment succeeds, one could expect Liberty Media to make the two-day format as a standard to squeeze 25 races in a season. In this week's Pits to Podium (https://bit.ly/pitstopodium) segment, Soumil and Kunal preview the 2020 Emilia Romagna Grand Prix by wondering why Formula 1 didn't call it the 2020 San Marino Grand Prix in the first place. There's no way we're betting against a Mercedes victory, but could Red Bull Racing-Verstappen spring a surprise? Will Ferrari's upgrades bring it into play for the coveted P3 position - joining the ranks of Racing Point, Renault and Mclaren? Join us as we talk about Italy hosting its 100th Formula 1 Grand Prix. Tune in! (Season 2020, Episode 54)  Follow our hosts on Twitter: Soumil Arora (https://twitter.com/iamsoumilaroraa) and Kunal Shah (http://www.twitter.com/kunalashah) Music courtesy: Lucien Byfieldt (https://lucienbyfieldt.bandcamp.com/) Image courtesy: Racing Department Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices