Formula 1 continues to add glitter to its programme. The top category of motorsport will launch a new sprint format this weekend in Azerbaijan, on the occasion of the fourth Grand Prix of the season. The objective: fewer tests, more qualifications and always more spectacle.
The sprint race format was inaugurated in 2021. The new formula will concern the six sprint races of the season. “This will enhance the spectacle (…) and improve the action on the track for supporters around the world,” said the FIA in a joint statement with promoter Formula One, a few days before the first sprint weekend of the season.
Drivers will run only one free practice session during the weekend (Friday), followed by “classic” qualifying during the day, which will determine the starting grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Saturday will be dedicated to the sprint. The drivers will take to the track for a second qualifying session, called the “Sprint Shootout”, shorter than the day before, which will determine the starting order for the sprint race on the same day. At the end of it, only the first eight drivers will score points, as was already the case.
The sprint will no longer affect the Sunday starting grid
Besides Azerbaijan, the new format will also be raced in Austria (July 2), Belgium (July 30), Qatar (October 8), the United States (Austin, October 22) and Brazil (November 5).
According to the FIA, the new format “will give drivers more incentive to go hard on Saturdays”. Until now, the drivers measured the risks taken during the sprint in order to secure their position on the grid for the main race. The race becoming an independent event, it will no longer have an impact on the starting grid of the GP.
Good news according to Frédéric Vasseur. “I’m not a big fan of FP2 (free practice 2), sometimes it’s a bit boring,” said the boss of Ferrari in early April. Beyond the lack of spectacle, the teams were no longer able to freely modify their single-seaters from qualifying on Friday. “Trying to have something more dynamic during the weekend is a good decision,” added the Frenchman.
With these sprints, F1 seeks to further monetize the whole of a weekend, both in the stands and in media coverage since during a classic GP, two free practice sessions are organized on Friday, a third and last on Saturday before the qualifications which determine the grid of the GP disputed the following day.
