F1 Sprints revamped ahead of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

After plans for reversed-grid races were vetoed, F1 knew it had to add another level of entertainment to satiate the desires of a new audience clamouring for more than just the staid format of practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday, and grand prix on Sunday. Depending on the circuit, the three Sprints in each of the last two seasons have proven hit and miss.

What had become patently obvious is that second practice on Saturday morning was nothing more than a glorified tyre testing outing due to the cars running under parc fermé conditions following the qualifying session late Friday. Worse still, is that the drivers were also acutely aware that taking risks during the Sprint – run over 100 kilometres, a third of the distance of a grand prix – could severely compromise their grid position for Sunday.

That was particularly the case during the Sprint's debut season when only the top three scored points, although even with the top eight doing so last year, once the opening lap or two had been completed, what followed was generally a train to the chequered flag.

The drivers made the point that if F1 and the fans wanted more thrills, the Sprint could not be linked to the grand prix. So F1 and the FIA have decided to further shake up the weekend format, and for the six Sprints this year, there will now be two qualifying sessions.

Friday's run, following a single 60-minute practice, will set the grid for the grand prix, with Saturday dedicated solely to the Sprint. There will be an additional qualifying, the outcome of which will provide the line-up for the Sprint later that day.

The three qualifying sessions, now known as the 'Sprint shootout', will be shorter than has traditionally been the case over the years, running to 12, 10 and eight minutes respectively, with tyre choice set – new mediums for Q1 and Q2, new softs for Q3.

F1 and the FIA claim the move has provided "more jeopardy through a reduction in practice time and providing a greater incentive for the drivers to race hard on Saturday". The first acid test of such a theory will be this Saturday in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan which has been the scene of many accidents over the years. It is the first time F1 has opted to run a Sprint at a street circuit, and with the additional qualifying, too, the possibility of witnessing further incidents has significantly increased. This, though, is what the drivers wanted.

"It's what all the drivers have always said, that it (the Sprint) shouldn't be connected to the main race," said McLaren driver Lando Norris, speaking prior to confirmation of the weekend format changes.

"You're just a bit afraid to do anything too much and it can quite easily ruin your Sunday, and I don't think that's the point of what it should be.

"It (the change) is more just to add entertainment for the viewers and for the fans, and we obviously have an extra race, so I look forward to it.

"I enjoy Baku, a difficult circuit, so it should be tough, exciting, considering its a Sprint race knowing what can happen. But it's always good fun."

Amongst the team principals, who initially voted in favour on the Sunday ahead of the Australian Grand Prix before the baton was passed to the F1 Commission to unanimously approve, there is appreciably a degree of apprehension. In the cost cap era, an expensive repair bill is not what is needed, allied to which is the pressure any incident would also exert on a team to deliver parts for the following weekend's race in Miami.

Aston Martin team principal Mike Krack said: “I’m nervous about a Sprint in Baku because you just don’t have enough time to repair if you have major damage.

“Straight after the Sprint, you have to put the covers on, and then in the morning, you have only three or four hours to repair your car if it’s heavily damaged, so there is a high risk with that exercise."

Echoing Krack's comments, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff added: “Two qualifying sessions per se is not something that’s bad.

“In qualifying, you have less opportunity to put the car in the wall, but with two races, which we always knew, obviously there is more at risk. And back-to-back with Miami, that can be a problem.”

You sense, however, with this change in place, it now lights the way for F1 CEO and president Stefano Domenicali to revamp the majority of the weekends. If you are a race promoter, are you really going to be happy with running to the old formula of three practice sessions, one qualifying and one race when other venues will reap the added financial rewards that will come with more track action from two qualifying sessions and two races? Likely not.

If the Sprint weekends this season prove a success in terms of an increase in television audiences and social media activation, expect plans for at least half the F1 calendar in future to embrace the new format.

Images courtesy of Motorsport Images.