Vincent Bruins
Thursday, December 7, 2023 11:15 AM – Last update: 11:30 AM
A new sprint racing format may be introduced for the 2024 Formula 1 season. It is not yet known whether there will be changes and what they would be, but George Russell and Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff are in any case clear that they do not like reversed starting grids.
The Sprint was introduced as the sprint qualification in 2021. In Silverstone, Monza and São Paulo, qualifying on Friday determined the grid for sprint qualifying on Saturday and the result of sprint qualifying determined the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix. The name ‘sprint qualification’ was dropped for 2022 and instead of the top three, the top eight received points. The Sprint was held in Imola, Austria and São Paulo. Although the format remained unchanged, it was now the driver who was fastest in qualifying instead of the winner of the Sprint who was officially recognized as the one with the pole position. This year the Sprint Shootout was introduced to make the Sprint a standalone event. Friday’s qualifying now determines the Grand Prix grid.
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DRS-train
One of the changes to the sprint racing format being discussed is a possible reversal of the starting grid, but Russell doesn’t think that will work: “I learned this when I raced in Formula 3 and Formula 2. If you have the ten fastest cars , the most challenging one to overtake is the one you’re fighting. If you flip that grid you have the fastest car in tenth place trying to overtake the second fastest car in ninth place who in turn tries to overtake the third fastest car in eighth place. What you will probably get is just a DRS train. So I don’t think that concept will work,” the Briton told the media present during the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
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WWE on Saturday
Wolff agrees with Russell: “I can understand [waarom we het doen]that people like it. There are more people who like it than not. Maybe I’m too purist, too old-fashioned, but I’d rather just have a Grand Prix than a sprint race weekend. We have to know that a Grand Prix is at two or three o’clock in the afternoon and that’s it.” If the Sprint remains, the team boss hopes that it will be in the order of Sprint Shootout, Sprint, Grand Prix qualifying and Grand Prix will take place instead of qualifying on the Friday before the Sprint. “I would understand sprint races with reverse starting grids, because at least we declare that that is the stupid race. Six times a year we do something that is very stupid and everyone knows how to distinguish it. There will be other winners and podiums, which is nice for variety. So we will do WWE six times on Saturday and Formula 1 24 times on Sunday.”
2023-12-07 10:28:49
#Wolff #clear #sprint #format #stupid
