Pierre Gasly welcomed Formula 1's new sprint format as an opportunity for teams to work on car set-up during the race weekend.
Last year the teams were limited to the choices made after FP1, when the cars were in parc fermé for the main qualifying, shootout, sprint and Grand Prix.
This meant that an uncompetitive car could not be improved with set-up changes and also led to problems such as excessive wear on the footpegs which led to the disqualification of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc after the US GP.
The new format sees FP1 followed by a free practice session and an initial parc fermé sprint. Teams will then have the opportunity to use the knowledge gained to modify their cars before moving on to a second parc fermé which will cover main qualifying and the race.
Details of exactly how the new format will work were discussed at a Sports Advisory Committee meeting on Friday.
“I think it's fantastic,” Gasly said when Motorsport.com asked him about the changes.
“I think this aspect was missing, for sure. Last year we found ourselves with fantastic, brilliant and ingenious engineers who couldn't touch anything of our car on Friday afternoon.”
“And that's what they get paid for, that's why they're the best. And it was a little sad, because they have so much more to offer than a click or two on the front flap and tire pressure.”
“F1 is the pinnacle of engineering and I think it's great to give them the opportunity to make continuous improvements throughout the weekend.”
Gasly confirmed that in the past his engineers were often frustrated when they knew they could improve the car but were unable to do so.
“Exactly,” he said. “And you don't have time to try anything. Because in an hour of rehearsals, you're quite limited. So it was always better to try to do the work in the simulator.
“And if you realize that you didn't start the weekend in the best position, your ability to react was extremely limited. So I think as a sport it was definitely the right change.”
Gasly's teammate Esteban Ocon agreed that the new format will be beneficial.
“It would be nice to do a sprint shootout and then close the parc fermé to do the sprint race and then reopen it before qualifying,” he said.
“I think that's what we should do. It would be a much more interesting weekend and you'd see a lot fewer errors due to stupid things like footpeg wear and stuff.”
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