On Tuesday, Formula 1 announced which will be the six stages in which the sprint format will be used, namely China, Austria, Miami, Austin, Qatar and Brazil. However, what has not yet been made official is how the race weekend will be outlined, given that there are several proposals on the table at the moment.
One option is to move the sprint race to Saturday morning, with qualifying for the Grand Prix moved from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon, therefore after the first race of the weekend. But changing the sessions is not the only proposal that the teams are evaluating, given that in recent months the use of the reversed grid in the sprints to liven up the shorter race has once again been mooted.
Clearly this would open up several rather complex scenarios, starting from the fact that drivers would have to be incentivized in the Shootout, so as not to deliberately go slow to gain positions on the Sprint starting grid. If points were introduced for the short qualification, then one might also ask why the same treatment is not also reserved for the other session dedicated to the flying lap.
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George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, Sergio Perez, Red Bull Racing RB19, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF-23, Yuki Tsunoda, AlphaTauri AT04
Beyond these aspects, over the years many drivers have expressed their doubts regarding the possibility of using the inverted grid. Already in 2019, even before the sprints were introduced, Sebastian Vettel had flatly rejected the idea, underlining the same concept again the following year.
Given that this proposal has returned to the fore in recent months in an attempt to revive a format that has never fully convinced, the drivers were recently asked to give their opinion on the possible introduction of the inverted grid. George Russell was among the most critical of this idea, given that he had already had the opportunity to experiment with it over the years.
In the preparatory categories, in fact, to allow young drivers to gain experience and try their hand at new situations, the reversed grid is often used as an excuse to add something to the weekend. Both in Formula 2 and Formula 3 this format has been used for years, reversing part of the grid between Sprint Race and Feature Race. However, it is clear that in Formula 1 there are not the same needs that are found in the minor series, not to mention that in the top category the vehicle has a more important importance. Even though the teams manage to make a difference in terms of setup, ideally in Formula 2 and Formula 3 the drivers start on equal terms, given that they have the same standard single-seater at their disposal.
In the past we have seen how a top car that starts from the back can actually have an easy time against its rivals, but the situation changes when all the fastest single-seaters are at the rear of the group. Formula 1 is currently evaluating multiple options. The first is that of completely inverting the grid, which however would put those who had worse performances in qualifying in the best position, thus giving them a good chance of scoring points, which would also represent a contradiction. For this reason, the option of inverting only the top ten positions is also being considered, but even in that case there would be some points to resolve.
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George Russell, Mercedes-AMG
“I won’t speak on behalf of the drivers. But my personal opinion is that I don’t think reverse grid racing works, because I learned that when I was racing in Formula 3 and Formula 2. If there are 10 faster cars, the the hardest car to overtake is the one you are fighting with. If there are the 10 fastest cars, the hardest car to overtake is the one you are fighting with”, explained George Russell, underlining how there is a profound difference between the various scenarios.
“If you reverse the grid, the fastest car is tenth, which tries to overtake the second fastest car in ninth, which in turn tries to overtake the third fastest car, eighth. So each car is trying to overtake its direct competitor. For this reason, most likely, a train of DRS will be created, because there could be a Williams in front of a Haas that cannot overtake it, an Alpine in the lead, a McLaren in the lead. or anyone else. I think the concept won’t work”, added the Englishman from Mercedes, underlining how the risk is that in many situations a DRS train will simply be created.
Since their introduction in 2021, the best Sprints have been seen either on very particular circuits, such as that of Brazil, or in those events where there is a rather marked difference in terms of rubber. For example, in the first Sprint at Silverstone in 2021 the drivers who decided to mount the soft were able to shake things up, at least before the softer compound suffered inevitable degradation. A theme that recurred again this year in Qatar, albeit in an even more marked way.
The best sprint races so far have been contested with tire degradation, as we saw in Qatar, and people with different strategies. And even in Brazil, the tires only made it to 25 laps, whatever it was, and it was a good race. But most of the time, in sprint races, you put on the medium tire and go flat out until the end, and it’s not a good race,” added the Mercedes driver.
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