Max Verstappen has threatened to turn his back on Formula One if the sport's bosses press ahead with plans to expand the number of sprint events.
The shortened-race format was first introduced at three rounds in 2021, and has been doubled to six for this year, with the first of the season taking place in Azerbaijan at the end of the month.
In its current guise, Friday qualifying determines the grid for Saturday's dash. The result of the sprint then establishes the order for Sunday's Grand Prix.
But Saturday's schedule could now see an additional qualifying session set the grid for the sprint. Friday's qualifying result would then be the starting order for Sunday's main event.
The change in format could even be introduced at the next round in Baku with an informal meeting of the grid's major players set to take place in Melbourne before Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.
But Verstappen, who starts from pole position in Albert Park on Sunday, said: "I hope there won't be too many changes, otherwise I won't be around for too long.
"I am not a fan of it at all. When we do all that kind of stuff, the weekend becomes very intense and we already do a lot of races. But it is not the right way to go about it.
"I understand they want to make every day at the track exciting but they should reduce the weekend, and only race on Saturday and Sunday and make those two days exciting.
"We are heading into seasons where we could have 24 or 25 races and if you then start adding more it is not worth it for me. I will not enjoy that.
"And even if you change the format, I don't find that is in the DNA of Formula One to do these kind of sprint races.
"F1 is about getting the most out of it in qualifying and have an amazing Sunday over a long race distance. That is the DNA of the sport and I don't understand why we need to change that.
"How do you get even more action? Get the cars closer, and have more teams fighting for the wins. The show would then be great if we had six or seven teams fighting for the win. That would be insane and then you wouldn't need to change anything."
Verstappen saw off a spirited Mercedes fightback to put his Red Bull on pole position for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix.
He beat George Russell to top spot by 0.236 seconds to claim his second pole of the year and 22nd of his career.
Lewis Hamilton will line up in third position, one place ahead of Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso.
Verstappen's Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez starts last after he crashed out.
Mercedes have endured a poor start to the new season, but the Silver Arrows suddenly find themselves in contention for a surprise victory at Melbourne's Albert Park with Russell leading their charge.
Hamilton was just nine thousandths adrift of Verstappen before the final runs, but preparations for his last lap were disrupted when he got caught up behind Haas' Nico Hulkenberg.
Although the seven-time world champion improved on his time, he was unable to join Verstappen on the front row with Russell edging out his team-mate by one tenth.
"Not too shabby," said a surprised Russell on the radio.
"We were not expecting that, that is for sure," he later added. "Wow, what a session for us. The car felt alive. The lap on the end was on the limit, and I am disappointed we didn't get pole."
Hamilton added: "I am so happy with this. This is totally unexpected and I am really proud of the team.
"To be on the front row is a dream for us. To be this close to Red Bull is incredible. I hope tomorrow we can give them a run for the money.
"The second lap was not as good as the first. I lost out a little bit at the beginning of the lap, but I am not disappointed. I am super-grateful."
Perez starts Sunday's race from the back of the field after his qualifying appearance lasted just three corners.
Perez, who won in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago, was unable to slow his Red Bull down in time for the third bend, completely missing the apex and skidding off into the gravel.
Perez attempted to manoeuvre his machine out of the sand trap but he was stuck. The red flags were deployed and Perez's day ended with a whimper.
"We need to sort that issue, man," said a furious Perez over the radio. "It was the same f****** issue again."
The 33-year-old, one point adrift of Verstappen in the standings, headed back to the garage on the back of a moped before reappearing at the back of the Red Bull garage with a face like thunder.
Alonso's 11-year wait to start a race from the front of the field goes on but his rejuvenated Aston Martin team are at least allowing him to compete, finishing four tenths back from Verstappen.
Carlos Sainz starts fifth for Ferrari with Alonso's team-mate Lance Stroll sixth.
Lando Norris has failed to score a single point at the opening two rounds of the season, with his McLaren team rooted to the foot of the constructors' championship.
And the British team's woes continued here with Norris only 13th on the grid. Norris' rookie team-mate Oscar Piastri - the first man from Melbourne to race at Albert Park - failed to provide much cheer for the home crowd. He failed to make it out of Q1 and lines up in 16th
