F1 News: Sprint Race Format May Undergo Changes
Team leaders are discussing with F1 changes that could be made to improve the sprint race weekend.
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00:00 The Brazilian Grand Prix weekend will host the last of six sprint races.
00:04 Now these sprint races have come under lots of scrutiny, there's been lots of differing
00:09 opinions from fans and those actually involved in the sport.
00:13 Now after the really, well, boring United States Grand Prix sprint, questions are being
00:19 asked as to how this can be improved.
00:22 Now let's not get this wrong, sprint races aren't going anywhere because it means there's
00:26 more people watching, there's more money.
00:29 That's what Liberty Media F1 is looking for right now, they're looking for revenue, so
00:33 they want more eyes watching as much as possible.
00:37 And that's exactly what the sprint gives them, even if it's not quite in the way we as fans
00:42 want it to be.
00:44 And the main issues right now is that the weekend is confusing and that a lot of people
00:49 think the sprint, part of the format, should not affect the Sunday's Grand Prix.
00:54 Historically, the Sunday's Grand Prix has been the big thing, it's literally, by translation,
01:00 the big prize.
01:01 So that should be the thing that everyone is all working towards, or everyone's all
01:04 excited for.
01:06 But the sprint weekend kind of takes a bit of that excitement and a bit of the importance
01:10 of the Grand Prix away, and I think that's because the drivers can win points, which
01:14 makes the Grand Prix not as important.
01:17 So there are a couple of changes that are being considered.
01:20 One, a separate sprint championship, this will separate the sprint races from the Sunday
01:26 Grand Prix's.
01:27 And I would assume this separates them entirely in regards to points, things like that, and
01:32 I think that is a good idea.
01:34 Now one other possible change is a big cash prize for that driver who wins, and that basically
01:40 builds an incentive for them to actually care.
01:43 But the issue with this is, again, these drivers are bred to win, they already care, even if
01:50 they don't care that much about the sprint race.
01:52 Look at Max Verstappen, for example, he really dislikes the sprint format, sprint weekends,
01:56 he still wants to win, so I think a major cash prize is just a bad idea.
02:01 The other idea is a potential for a reverse grid format, but again, qualifying will just
02:06 see drivers slow down a bit on purpose.
02:08 And I do think we'd see a more exciting race with the faster cars at the back having to
02:13 push their way up the field, but even then, if you got points because you qualified the
02:19 slowest, do you not deserve those points, but do you appreciate those points because
02:25 did you earn those points?
02:26 And that's something Alex Alban questioned a lot when he was asked about the reverse
02:30 grid.
02:31 How would it feel to not necessarily earn the points you win from those races?
02:36 Okay, so for me, I do this literally professionally, I still can't remember how the format is placed
02:44 over the weekend.
02:45 Friday, we currently have one practice session.
02:47 Now this already poses an issue because as soon as practice is over, and as soon as they
02:51 start qualifying later on the Friday, the cars go into park firmware conditions, which
02:57 means the setup can't be changed.
02:59 They can't change anything on the car, even though they've only had one, a third of the
03:03 time practicing to work out upgrades, let's say.
03:08 Look at Aston Martin, for example, they were ruinous over the US Grand Prix because they
03:12 didn't know how to use the upgrades.
03:14 Okay, the Saturday, we then have the sprint shootout and then the sprint race.
03:21 So actually, Saturday is looking pretty good.
03:25 Most people aren't at work on a Saturday, they can watch it.
03:27 Unfortunately, though, they were working on the Friday, so they didn't see the actual
03:31 qualifying, which is arguably more important than everything that happens on the Saturday.
03:35 Okay, and then we go into the Sunday and the Grand Prix is entirely as normal.
03:40 But this whole process of the weekend doesn't make any sense.
03:42 Why have qualifying for the Grand Prix on the Friday when you should really have that
03:47 at the end of the Saturday?
03:48 Why not split the sprint weekend and the Grand Prix into two separate events?
03:52 And that's what Toto Wolff is saying.
03:54 He's saying that the sprint shootout to be on the Friday and that the second qualifying
03:57 for the Grand Prix should be on the Saturday.
04:00 So everyone can see it, or as many people as possible anyway.
04:04 He then also says that they should just call it sprint qualifying and Grand Prix qualifying.
04:09 Get rid of the sprint shootout.
04:10 No one cares about this whole new branding.
04:13 They're just trying to make it sound exciting.
04:14 But while Wolff is wanting a lot of these changes, he does admit that he actually doesn't
04:18 like the weekend himself.
04:20 But regardless of what he feels and regardless of what every other team principal driver
04:25 feels, it's one, not up to them.
04:27 And two, it does improve the weekend for viewers.
04:32 I don't think practice, for the majority of us, for the majority of people watching, I
04:37 don't think practice sessions do much for them.
04:39 They must have a low viewership.
04:41 I don't know.
04:42 I don't know the numbers, but they must have a low viewership.
04:44 Because even though you've got lots of cars racing around and you've got a timing board,
04:47 you don't actually know really until maybe the end of free practice three how much performance
04:52 these cars are showing.
04:53 Because they're running different tests.
04:54 They're running different amounts of fuel, different weights, different tyres, different
04:58 engine shootings.
05:00 So there is currently collaboration between teams and F1.
05:04 So next season, yes, we've got a longer calendar.
05:07 We've got sprint races once again.
05:09 We will likely see a change to the format.
05:11 So hang around with F1 Briefings in partnership with Sports Illustrated.
05:15 We'll keep you up to date on all the news.
05:17 Enjoy the race this weekend.
05:18 It's going to be very, very exciting.
05:20 Hopefully the Brazilian Grand Prix is a great venue.