We have already had more than one taste of the Sprint Qualifying this season. Up to now they have been held at Silverstone and Monza, waiting to see the third and final test take place in 2 weekends at Interlagos, home of the Sao Paulo Brazilian Grand Prix.
This new format, designed to try to make race weekends more interesting, will find more space in Formula 1 starting from next season, that of 2022, which will consist of 23 grands prix.
The leaders of the world championship circus, after seeing two out of three tests held this season, were convinced that the new format is a success. That’s why they decided to carry it out. It is still not certain how, because it will be decided not only by F1, but also together with the FIA and the teams over the course of the winter.
However, Sprint Qualifying will not be immune to changes. F1 chief executive Ross Brawn recently stated that the goal for 2022 is to have 6 Sprint Qualifying, therefore double the number of this season and each promoter would have expressed a willingness to host a Sprint Race in 2022.
Before making changes to the Sprint Race, the F1 and FIA leaders will also have to understand how the new ground-effect single-seaters that will be introduced starting from 2022 will behave. This from a technical point of view, but from the sporting one there are ideas that almost certainly will be implemented immediately.
One of these is a different point assignment, pole position assignment and the name of the Sprint Race itself. Speaking this Monday with select media, including Motorsport.com, Ross Brawn said: “In principle we have agreed with the teams that we will try to identify 6 events that could host the Sprint Races over the next season. then there will be a lot of things to fix. Our intention is to make progressive, but not radical, steps forward. This, at least in part, is because the new cars are on the way and everyone needs to understand more about the new cars and settle down. ” .
“We need to see the impact of the new cars. That is why we have been relatively conservative and evolutionary for 2022. But we are positive about the concept and we are happy that F1 is brave enough to try an alternative 3-race format concept in ‘ arc this season to see how this works. “
Brawn said that while F1 will not fundamentally change the Sprint Race format, there are some key revisions under consideration. One of these, perhaps the most significant, is the change linked to a new assignment of points.
“There is no doubt that we are discussing with all the teams how Saturday can be made more challenging, more engaging. I am very optimistic that the new cars will help the show, because they should be able to battle with each other. the question is how we can make Saturday more rewarding in terms of points, therefore giving more incentives to risk already on Saturday “.
“I think probably things like inverted grids, etc … could bring a lot of fun, I have to say. But I think maybe that would be a step too far. But there are some things on the table that we are discussing.”
“One of them is pole on Friday. It’s not exciting to have pole on that day. So that’s on the agenda. The name of the event (Qualifying Sprint), as we all call the race: the name is something about we want to intervene and we want to change. Perhaps a new distribution of points for Saturday could make it more stimulating and inviting for the drivers. “
Currently the Sprint Qualifying awards points only for the first 3 classified (3 to the first, 2 to the second and 1 to the third). Brawn says this system could change to offer up to a third of the current scoring system used for competitions.
This could mean the race winner could score between 8 and 10 points, with the top 10 earning points from the Sprint Qualifying.
“Personally we have proposed something around a third of points that are obtained in the race, for the Sprint Qualifying”, continued Brawn. “This was the initial proposal, which was not accepted because the feeling was that we need to see how Sprint Qualifying works before awarding points. So we think this could be a starting point for discussions in this regard.”
“We want the points awarded to be significant enough to fight not only at the top, but also in the middle of the standings. Just as we don’t want to give a number of points that could have too much influence on the championship. It will have an influence on the championship, that’s for sure. . He has to have it and that’s what we want, but not in excessive quantities. “
Brawn said there have been few complaints about Sprint Qualyfing so far, at least with regard to those carried out this season at Silverstone and Monza. And while the event didn’t produce a great deal of entertainment, it’s the wider impact it has in format on improving the action on Friday and the race that convinced the former Ferrari technical director.
Asked by Motorsport.com, linked to whether he felt bored on the Saturday of the Sprint Qualifying, Brawn said: “Personally I think it is a price to pay if Saturday is not an atomic impact event. I’m not sure it will be. never. I think the overall weekend has improved so much that we will continue to offer it. “
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