F1 News
F1 teams disagree (yet) on sprint racing: 'It's all about the fans'
The set-up of sprint weekends in Formula 1 is facing increasing criticism. Not only several drivers (such as Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez) but also leading analysts believe changes are needed to keep the sprint races attractive. Toto Wolff already advocated in Brazil that the weekend should be organised differently.
According to the Mercedes team boss, there should be the sprint shootout after free practice, the sprint race on Saturday morning and qualifying for the Grand Prix later that day. Naturally, the main race would remain on Sunday. It is a proposal discussed last week at the Sporting Advisory Committee - where the team bosses were present - A decision has not yet been made.
Different options for sprint races
"So we obviously had the Sporting Advisory Committee meeting this week," said Tom McCullough, Aston Martin's Performance Director. "There's been discussions about how to improve and how we go about the sprint event. The sprint event was brought in for a reason: the fans. From a technical point of view, it's a headache. The car goes into Parc Ferme after one practice session and it is difficult. From a commercial side and from a fan side, I think some elements are exciting. Our job is to put a simpler, better, more understandable format, still have the excitement of two races, I think."
His colleague Diego Ioverno of Ferrari does not know if the sprint race on Saturday is a smart plan. "There are some discussions ongoing. For sure, the sprint weekend has a lot of merits because the more competitive sessions you get, the more interesting you can generate. Is it possible to improve? Probably. Everybody is having a thought. We discussed it with the Sporting Committee. There is still not a definitive proposal, but our target will be once the FIA and F1 have sort of decided on the format."
"Teams will have to work all together to make it good for the spectators, good for us because it's quite tricky. If you move the sprint race to Saturday morning, then you have to make sure that you allow enough gap for teams to react for quali in case of problems and stuff like that. There are also other options on the table. We will work all together because, in the end, this is our target, to make it as good as possible for our fans.," said the Italian.