Formula 1 is considering an adjustment of the format for Grands Prix in which a sprint race is held. The drivers may already complete two qualifications from the Grand Prix in Azerbaijan.
“It is true that there is talk of a second qualifying,” Haas team boss Günther Steiner revealed in Melbourne on Friday.
According to the Italian, it is not yet entirely clear what that will look like, but the idea is to qualify separately for the sprint race and the main race. Qualifying on Friday will then be for the Grand Prix on Sunday, while the grid for the sprint race on Saturday will have to be determined in a separate second qualifying session.
That second qualifying will then replace the second free practice during the sprint race weekend. Since teams are no longer allowed to change the car by then, the usefulness of that session is already being questioned.
“Hopefully we can adjust the format for the sprint races a bit so that there is a bit more dynamic,” Red Bull team boss Christian Horner said in a comment. “I know that our sporting directors are working hard on it at the moment. Hopefully we can get it completed soon.”
‘Sprint race on a street circuit will cost a lot of money’
The introduction of the new format in Baku on April 30 would mark its debut on a street circuit. The first of six sprint races will therefore already be completed there in 2023. Horner doesn’t think that’s the best idea.
“The first sprint race of the year on a tight street circuit with walls around it is of course ridiculous,” said the Briton. “But from the fans’ perspective it will probably be the most exciting sprint race of the year.”
According to the Red Bull team boss, the teams must take into account that it will cost money. That is extra painful, because the teams are now bound by a budget limit from which they also have to cough up the money for new parts. “All you can do there is crash. Then it costs a lot of money.”
More will probably become clear about the plans for the double qualification in the coming days. “We don’t know yet if and how we’re going to do it,” Steiner concluded.
