F1 drivers divided on revised sprint weekend format

The revised sprint race format debuting in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend has largely received positive feedback from drivers on the Formula 1 grid – but some notable names remain unconvinced by the shake-up.

Ahead of the first of six sprint races scheduled to be held this year, it was confirmed that alterations would be made to the format that was initially interpreted to spice up selected weekends in 2021.

Whereas previously qualifying would determine the order for the shorter sprint race and the result of that would provide the starting grid for Sunday’s full distance race, a second qualifying titled ‘Sprint Shootout’ has been implemented to occur on Saturday morning ahead of the sprint.

The secondary qualifying session for the sprint will also differ from Friday evening’s traditional arrangement, with the three sessions reduced by two minutes each and the drivers only permitted to use the Medium compound in both Q1 and Q2 before those in Q3 will be granted the grippier Soft tyre.  

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Unlike the previous two years, any sprint-related session will have no bearing on how the grid forms up for Sunday’s main event, encouraging drivers to take more risks in those particular outings.

Esteban Ocon has relayed his support for the change by asserting that he anticipates more mistakes creeping in with the first track action of Saturday being a qualifying session.

However, the Alpine racer insists that the sprint format shouldn’t become a regular occurrence that happens every single weekend through a 20-plus race calendar.

“You know, it’s cool to have more racing, a more exciting weekend, but maybe not every weekend,” the Frenchman considered. “That would be something to look out for.

“On the other hand, I think as a driver, it’s great that you go straight into that Qualifying Sprint, that Shootout Qualifying without practice before. Because that could bring some uncertainty.

“Some drivers are not going to be, you know, awake, they are going to make mistakes, and it’s not going to be the same. So we’ll see. That brings opportunities and brings, you know, skills to the driver more importantly, so I look forward to that.”

“Yeah, I think it’s exciting for everybody, keeps everyone on their toes all weekend,” Lance Stroll added. “Like the guys have said, there’s not much time to get into the groove and get the car in a happy place, where you want it.

“So I think it’s fun. It’s going to be exciting for the fans too, which is great.”

Alex Albon has also advocated for the overhaul of the sprint weekend structure, arguing that it could potentially provide a newfound beneficial advantage to the lower midfield sides like his Williams team.

“Yeah, especially for midfield teams there’s a bit more going on,” he stated. “And I think on Friday, there’s maybe some teams that won’t get it perfect and that’s good for us.

“I think it creates opportunity for some others to get on the pace early and I think we welcome that.

“It’s a good change from the original Sprint race format, where obviously it would sometimes filter out the differences in qualifying. This is a good way to do it.”

Meanwhile, Kevin Magnussen doesn’t suspect that removing the risk element of potentially losing out critical starting spots for Sunday will mean some teams elect to retire its cars early in the sprint if neither of its two drivers are in the points.

“Yeah, I don’t think you’re going to just pit if you’re not in contention for points, but I think if you’re P9 towards the end of the race and there is an opportunity to attack, but it might be a slightly risky one, you’re going to be more likely to go for it with how it is now,” the Haas driver explained.

However, seven-time F1 Champion Lewis Hamilton was less enthusiastic than his counterparts about the modifications that have been imposed.

While the Brit admits that he welcomes the trialling of amended methods to improve the spectacle, Hamilton insists that the updated format won’t increase overall track time and referred to it as “a practice session but there are points at the end of it”.

Having suggested ahead of the Australian Grand Prix he would prefer shorter race weekends in the future, Hamilton has now proposed that a solution should be sought that would see cars on track for longer and reduce the large breaks between sessions.

“What I do think is – and I think it’s great that we are doing these different format weekends – but there’s a lot of time where we could do more running,” he argued.

“And I know we always talk about what’s the best in terms of environment and all those sorts of things, but I don’t know if it’d be better for the fans but there’s a lot of… there’s a huge break between these sessions and we could be doing more running or whatever it may be.

“If that was better for the fans, for example, so maybe we’ll look into that in the future.”

Hamilton’s ex-title rival and defending World Champion Max Verstappen was another high-profile figure to voice his concerns about the sprint.

“You have to be okay with it anyway,” he began tentatively to Sky Sports. “I love racing in general, but sometimes, I do feel like you don’t need to really touch anything that is great and I always thought that the Sunday was great.”

“Of course I understand selling more tickets on a Friday and Saturday to make every day worth fighting for, but, you know, when you do eventually like 24-25 race weekends, I think, a good option would anyway be to shorten the weekend.”

Although the drivers and teams will only be afforded one hour to acclimatise to the track and perfect set-ups ahead of qualifying on Friday evening, Carlos Sainz has revealed he elected not to spend more time in Ferrari’s Maranello simulator before flying to Baku.

“Personally, I’ve prepared the race as a normal race and the long run, you have to believe the simulations,” he disclosed.

“The data that comes out of the sprint qualifying is also important for the main race; let’s not forget that the main race is still the one that gives out the most points and I guess that sprint race will give us a lot of information going into the main race.”