‘Sprint Qualifying’ plans unanimously approved
Date published:
April 26 2021
It has been announced that plans to test Sprint Qualifying at three rounds in 2021 have been unanimously approved.
The sport has been keen to mix up the traditional race weekend format for some time, and after reverse grids proved unpopular, plans for sprint races were put together.
Such races would be 100km, around a third of a grand prix distance and take place on Saturdays to determine the starting grid for Sunday’s race.
The usual qualifying session meanwhile would happen on Friday after practice and set the order for the new events.
Wolff and Horner join forces on sprint race proposal
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Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff and Red Bull counterpart Christian Horner have both given their approval to Formula 1 s sprint race proposal for this season.
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali initially met with the 20 drivers in Bahrain on Thursday ahead of pre-season testing to discuss his plans that will see sprint races trialled at three grands prix this year.
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It is understood the British, Italian and Brazilian Grands Prix will provide the testbeds for a plan that could come into force next season if they deliver the excitement hoped for and the growth in audience craved.
Marko welcomes move to avoid ‘boring races’
Date published:
February 13 2021
Dr Helmut Marko believes Formula 1 have chosen the right circuits to stage the proposed new sprint races.
The different format for selected grand prix weekends comprises the idea of qualifying taking place on a Friday, followed by a 100km sprint race on the Saturday and then the main event as usual on the Sunday.
The proposal has been put forward as a way of generating fresh excitement for F1 fans, without going down the even more contentious route of qualifying sprint races.
The races nominated for the new format to be tried out are the Canadian, Italian and Brazilian Grands Prix, with more information to be supplied to teams about how it will work before a decision is ratified.