Formula 1 is set to feature 6 sprint races this year as opposed to the three last year. They are going to be at the following circuits:
Baku, Azerbaijan
Red Bull Ring, Austria
Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium
Lusail, Qatar
COTA, Austin USA
Interlagos, Brazil
The normal format for a race weekend that includes a sprint race commences as follows:
Friday- FP1 (morning) Qualifying for Sprint (afternoon)
Saturday FP2 (morning) Sprint Race (afternoon)
Sunday Race from the sprint order.
"We have seen a hugely positive reaction to the F1 sprint events during the first 2 years of running"
Formula 1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali has praised the success of the addition of the sprint races to Formula 1 last year, whilst many were apprehensive before its introduction they have proved to add another element of entertainment during the race weekend.
In previous years, the locations of the sprint races are chosen based on the speed and overtaking options at the circuit to ensure that there is the opportunity for action as much as possible. However, this year F1 is going to potentially see another change to the sprint weekends as the 2023 season will include 6 sprint races across the season, with limited track time and extra points at stake the new sprint races should be a welcome prospect this year.
Recently there have been reports of a new format being introduced to the sprint race weekend for Baku on the 28th-30th of April. The new format would be as follows:
FP1 and Qualifying for both sprint and normal race.
Shortened qualifying for the sprint race
Normal race on Sunday
According to this potential new format, there will only be one practice session for the teams meaning there will be more jeopardy in their set-up and limits the amount of time that they can experiment with their set-up. In addition to this, there will be another qualifying session added to the weekend which will decide the grid for the sprint race however the normal qualifying will set the grid for Sunday regardless of the result from the sprint race. This would mean a new qualifying format that could possibly shorten from the normal hour to have one 12-minute and two 10-minute sessions. Grid penalties picked up during a sprint race will be applied to the next sprint race and any technical penalties will be applied to the normal Sunday races but this is still yet to be officially confirmed.
A number of team principals have had their say on the new format that could be introduced at Baku this year “I think two qualifying sessions per se is not something that's bad,” he said when speaking to Autosport. Meanwhile, Christian Horner has expressed his concerns regarding the risks of damage to the cars “The reality is it's absolutely ludicrous to be doing the first sprint race of the year in a street race like Azerbaijan,” as a street circuit, Baku poses more of a threat for the teams as crashes are more likely therefore more costly. F1 team principals have also expressed their support in having a shorter sprint race in the future to save power units and make adjustments to the tyre allocation across the weekends as multiple drivers and teams have been making comments regarding the need for improvement of the Pirelli tyres.
Whilst this new format is yet to be confirmed to date, many are again speculating about this change to the F1 race weekend. With a new and younger audience being exposed to the sport changes have been made across the sport to adapt to the newer fans for example, F1 drivers are becoming more present and connected with their fans both at the races and on social media. The hit Netflix series 'Drive to Survive has been a huge cause of this big increase in popularity of the sport, the introduction of the sprint races is Formula 1's first change of format since 2010 when the point system was changed among many other technical regulations. The addition of new sprint races has been welcomed by the majority of fans new and old despite the speculation and questions before the actual first sprint events took place in 2021 and have added some additional entertainment to the weekend with more on-track action. Sprint races are not a bad thing for the sport and have provided a fresh change for some weekends we are yet to find out whether 6 sprint races from a viewer's perspective is too many or just the right amount for the season but adding a new format to an additional event could make it confusing and unnecessary for a lot of fans, even newer fans who are adapting to the sport. F1 has produced many entertaining races throughout the years without adding new events and formats to the weekend, so why change it now?
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