F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali in a 'take it or leave it' message to die-hard, long-term fans as he eyes a radical overhaul of the sport.

It is somewhat ironic that as we head to arguably the most historic, and among the most passionate, venues on the calendar, the former boss of the F1 team, not quite as old but equally historic and passionate, eyes the death knell of the sport as we know it.

Domenicali has long talked of his determination to spice up the sport, whilst championing a shifting demographic that sees women and children make up an increasing part of the fan-base.

With teams valued in the billions, building TV viewership, increasing revenues from various streams and that shift in the demographic, Domenicali and Liberty Media clearly feel emboldened enough to talk of changes that will send shockwaves through the sport, while risking alienating those fans of a certain vintage... not that the former Ferrari boss appears to care.

Not only we talking of reverse grids - and not just for the Sprints as previously claimed - but more Sprints and shorter grands prix.

"There's a topic on the table concerning the format we'll use in the coming years, starting with sprint weekends," he has told members of the media. "We need to understand whether to increase them, how to increase them, and whether to use different formats. We have several discussions to have with the teams to decide the direction.

"I have to say that aside from some older die-hard fans, everyone wants sprint weekends," he insists. "Promoters push for this format and now the drivers are interested as well.

"I'm being a bit provocative, but free practice appeals to super-specialists," he continues, though as a team boss he was obviously keen for as much running as possible, "people who want to see more action prefer a sprint weekend. There's more to discuss and comment on from Friday, there's a qualifying session, but I understand it has to become part of F1 culture.

"The direction is clear: I can guarantee that in a few years there will be demand to have all weekends with the same format," he says. "I'm not saying we'll get to MotoGP, which has a sprint at every round, that's too big a step. I see it more as a maturation process that respects a more traditionalist approach.

"As for the drivers, initially eighteen were against the sprint and two in favour, today it's the opposite," he reveals. "We discussed it at the dinner we organised in Austria and everyone spoke in favour. Even Max, with whom I spoke one-on-one, is starting to say it makes sense, so I see evolution from everyone. In the end, drivers are born to race.

"Promoters and fans want action," he insists. "And now that they've started to understand it's possible: our surveys show the vast majority of the audience wants the drivers to fight for a result. To put it bluntly, they're tired of free practice. That's an objective fact we can't ignore."

Ever since (American-owned) Liberty Media bought the sport in early 2017, there have been fears over its potential 'Americanization', including shortening races or even reducing them to segments.

Domenicali admits these fears were not wide of the mark. The sprint not only allows for two races, it maximises two of the most exciting parts of a race weekend, qualifying and the start of the race.

In effect, certainly in terms of the grand prix, this leaves the 'boring bit' in the middle, which could be done away with or certainly reduced in length.

"We're seeing on many of our channels that highlights do very well. For those of us who grew up with the current format, everything is fine as is, but there's a large segment that only wants to see the key moments. Things are going very well today, but precisely for that reason we must not rest on our laurels. We need to think about the next step."

And then there's reverse grids.

"It's on our agenda," he admits. "We've discussed it before, but in the coming months we'll need the courage to push the discussion again because I've heard several drivers propose it.

"At first everyone was against it, but at the last meeting many of them said, 'Why don't we try?' I don't think there's a single right or wrong stance here, every opinion has value. We'll evaluate it with the FIA and interpret an evolving trend as best as possible, that's for sure."

While those of a certain vintage might well say that 'all good things come to an end', the same might be said of the sport's current boom, initially, let's not forget, built on the back of a stylised TV documentary broadcast at a time there was a captive audience.

Yes, the sport has gone out of its way to make itself more attractive and accessible to its new audience, but remembering how exactly that audience was won over F1 would do well to consider how easily it could be lost again... indeed, much like any sinking ship it could well be a case of women and children first.

At a time Ferrari marks the 50th anniversary of Niki Lauda's first title and the sport celebrates its 75th season, F1 would do well to think long and hard on that history and why the sport has endured.

The old adage of 'if it aint broke don't fix it' comes to mind, as does the warning never to turn your back on your loyal customers.