F1: Sprint Race shakeup heading to next F1 Commission (3rd Update)

Formula 1 is studying the implementation of reverse grids for the 2024 sprint races.

China, Miami, Austria, Qatar, Austin and Brazil would be the 6 venues where the sprint races would take place in 2024.

A final decision is expected to be communicated in January 2024.

(GMM) Formula 1 has moved one step closer to tweaking the ‘sprint race’ weekend format for 2024.

The F1 Commission met at the Abu Dhabi finale on Friday, where stakeholders gave “support for an update” to the format to better separate “sprint activities from those of the grand prix”.

It is believed the main change will be moving sprint qualifying to the session after Friday practice, with the sprint race to then take place on Saturday prior to the main qualifying session for Sunday’s grand prix.

“We think that some tuning in the sequence of the sessions, and some changes when it comes to the parc ferme rules is the right direction,” said McLaren boss Andrea Stella.

A detailed proposal will now be prepared for January’s F1 Commission meeting, with Red Bull team boss Christian Horner also still calling for a reverse sprint grid in order to spice up the often processional short race.

“I think it needs a bit more work on it within the sporting forum,” he said. “Then we’ll sit down at the next Commission meeting early in the new year and hopefully finalize a format.”

The retiring Alpha Tauri boss Franz Tost also admits he is arguing for an extension of Friday free practice to 90 minutes to help less experienced drivers during the hectic sprint weekends.

Without that change, he says, F1 teams will have to think very hard about “whether to take a rookie driver or not”.

The FIA F1 Commission has approved changes to the Sprint Race weekends, but have yet to say exactly what the final weekend format will look like.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

There is talk of reversing the grid for the Sprint race, however, the race is so short drivers will have to take unnecessary chances to move forward, resulting in costly crash damage. Dumb idea.

Here is the rumored Sprint Weekend Format for 2024

(GMM) F1 looks set to go ahead and shake up the ‘sprint race’ weekend format for 2024, with a focus on not locking down cars after just 1 practice.

Although intended to give spectators more action, the single practice session, qualifying for Sunday’s race occurring on Friday, ‘sprint shootout’ qualifying and a short race on Saturday are not universally loved.

“Yeah, it’s been absolutely fantastic,” world champion Verstappen said sarcastically at Interlagos when asked about the format he clearly hates.

“So much fun.”

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff thinks the biggest problem is that the current format is too confusing – but the single hour of practice has also caused problems.

“Should we increase that session by 30 minutes?” the Austrian wonders.

Wolff says it’s all currently being discussed with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, including reshuffling the other sprint weekend sessions to make it more logical for the casual fan.

“Even I get confused and don’t immediately remember which session is next,” he admitted.

“At the end of the day I think we all have the same goal. Personally, I often say that I don’t like these weekends at all, but if they make sense because they’re good for the audience, then we should do them.”

However, there are some wilder ideas floating around at present about a more substantial sprint shake-up – perhaps including $1m prizes for the sprint winners, a separate sprint championship, and even reverse grids.

“Yeah I wouldn’t mind,” said Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz when asked about reverse grids.

“I agree that Saturday is too revealing of what’s going to happen on Sunday. It’s basically the first stint of the race on Sunday. So you arrive at the point of trying something else.

“Is that reverse grids? Is that single lap qualifying? I don’t know, but I think given that the sprint format is a bit of an experiment going on right now in Formula 1, I would be open to keep experimenting to see which format is best,” he added.

The matter is currently being discussed between the teams and Domenicali ahead of the next meeting of the decision-making F1 Commission.

“There is a discussion going on in the Formula 1 Commission,” confirmed Alpha Tauri CEO Peter Bayer.

“I think the sprint product has brought a lot to F1 overall,” he told Sky Deutschland. “In the end, the spectators get more for their money.

“The topic is the structure of those weekends. Can we bring back the traditional format with qualifying on Saturday afternoon and the race on Sunday?

“There is an idea that you do the sprint on Saturday morning and then qualify for the main race in the afternoon. But then there’s the parc ferme problem of not being allowed to work on the car.

“So there is need for discussion and a desire for it,” Bayer added. “We all have to actively participate in this.

“We have the next Formula 1 Commission in Abu Dhabi, and this will be on the agenda.”