The changes to Formula 1’s sprint race format which have been made to produce more action could have the opposite effect in some cases, drivers believe.
Formula 1 has revised the sprint race format which will be used at six rounds this year, starting with this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix. While the Saturday races were previously used to decide the starting order for the grand prix, this will no longer be the case.
Friday’s qualifying session will now decide the grid for the grand prix. An extra qualifying session, called the ‘sprint shootout’, will take place instead of second practice, to decide the starting order for the sprint race. The sprint race will continue to pay the same number of points as before, but it will not determine the starting order for the race.
As drivers no longer need to fear compromising their grid position for the grand prix if they crash in the sprint race, F1 expects the changes to the format will encourage them to take more risks.
However as points are only awarded to the top eight positions in the sprint race, and lower finishes have no bearing on a driver’s championship position, those in the lower half of the field may find they have little to fight for.
Williams driver Logan Sargeant said drivers who find themselves outside the points positions early in the 17-lap sprint race will have little incentive to push flat-out until the end. “I think in that situation you will find yourself using it to, just realistically, gather information for the GP on Sunday,” he said.
“At the same time things can get crazy into turn one and you find yourself in a good position where you can score some points. So anything could happen, especially here. But I think if you find yourself not in the points after the first six, seven laps or so, then you’re going to use it more as a test session.”
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However the nature of the Baku City Circuit where this weekend’s event is being held could increase the potential rewards for those further down the grid.
“I think it’s going to be a eventful,” he said in response to a question from RaceFans. “If you look at it in an opportunistic type of way, then it can be good. You definitely have to keep out of trouble because I’m sure it’s going to be hectic. But I’m just going to take what’s put down, I guess.”
Alfa Romeo’s Zhou Guanyu said the drivers in the “bigger teams” will be more willing to race hard as they have larger supplies of spare parts.
“For us, we always try to fight, but we still need to make sure we’re not damaging any parts because obviously we’re not like the very big teams,” he said. “We have upgrades, front wings at the track so we still have to manage in a way.
“But it definitely gives us a little bit less stress on lap one in the sprint races so we can really just fight for the positions.”
However Zhou expects he will feel emboldened to take more chances in the new-style sprint races. “Always we try to [gain places] because obviously it’s only [the] top eight who get the points.
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“But compared to the previous years, I think the biggest difference is the way that drivers approach the opening laps or with the Safety Car restarts. We definitely can take more risk because if we try to fight for position and even will make mistakes, there’s more to gain than to lose, for example. So in that way it definitely can make the race more exciting.”
But Zhou admitted he still prefers the classic grand prix format over the sprint events. “Obviously, in general, as a driver, I still like the standard format,” he said. “But I think with the current format adjustments on last year based on the sprint, it’s better here.
“For example in Imola I got taken out at turn one and I had to start the race at the back. So damage limitation has definitely been improved.”
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