This year there will be experiments with this set-up during three weekends. The traditional qualifying will then be held on Friday, in which the grid for the sprint race on Saturday will be determined. In it, there is a battle for the starting grid for the actual main game on Sunday and the top-3 also earn World Cup points. This has already happened in Silverstone and Monza and will be continued in São Paulo.
“The vast majority of responses are positive. The promoters of the races are also very happy, because it is something new and there is action on Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” said Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. Sky Sports. “We cannot launch the sprint format on every track. There is still a lot to think about, but we want to get to a situation where this format is used in about a third of the races. We have to make the right strategic decision. In seven or eight weekends next year? That is a possibility.”
The provisional calendar for 2022 is expected to be presented later in October. That season will start in March and end in mid-November. In conversation with De Telegraaf, Domenicali already revealed last month that a maximum of 23 races on an annual basis will remain the aim and the season will therefore end earlier than is the case this season. Now the final race in Abu Dhabi is scheduled for December 12.
About the sprint races Domenicali said: „If we only stick to traditions, the sport will drown. And that in a business where innovation in the technical field is so important. Then you sometimes have to renew the rest, which is vital. We should never be afraid to change something, because we know that criticism will come. We do it the right way and examine everything. There is a new generation of fans who want to be surprised.”
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