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Williams boss calls for scrapping of Friday practice

As the Formula One calendar grows ever more bloated - a deal for a US Grand Prix from 2012 was agreed this week - the sport should consider culling Friday's 180 minutes of free practice.

That is the belief of Williams' chief executive Adam Parr, who revealed he has proposed to have the traditional race weekend format condensed to just Saturday and Sunday.

F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone visited the media centre at Istanbul Park on Friday, and smiled broadly when a reporter said he had heard rumours about 24-race calendars in the near future.

But despite the increasingly hectic schedule, Ecclestone is no fan of reducing the current three days to two, largely because it would impact on current commercial and media deals.

Parr, however, questioned the entertainment value of the current Friday format, and argued cutting out Fridays would mean less equipment for the teams to transport.

"I can see the calendar going to 24 over the next two to three years, and I'm not sure whether logistically, with these longer weekends, it will be easy to do."

He added he raised the issue recently in Barcelona and teams - including Ferrari, McLaren and Renault - did not baulk at the idea.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.