by VALERIO BARRETTA
F1, the effects of the changes to Sprint on Parc Fermé
In this hot start to February on various fronts, Formula 1 has approved a series of changes to be made official at a federal level, after the World Motor Sport Council on 28 February. Among these changes is the one involving the format Sprintwith the short qualifying sessions on Friday afternoon and the “real” ones on Saturday afternoon.
The changes, if confirmed, should make it possible to postpone the entry into the Parc Fermé regime, with the Sprints also serving to experiment with setups in view of the most important event, the Grand Prix: with the old format (qualifying on Friday afternoon) , the Parc Fermé came into force 48 hours before the GP, the PL1 alone was not enough to give important indications in terms of set-up, plus the short races almost became a “spoiler” for Sunday.
Gasly's words
Pierre Gasley supported Sprint's new “spread” formula: “I think it's great, that was one thing that was missing. Last year we ended up with some genius kids who couldn't touch anything on our car on a Friday afternoon, despite being paid to do so. It was a bit sad, because they had a lot more to offer than one or two minor tweaks to the front wing and tire pressure. F1 is the pinnacle of engineering and I think it's right to give them the chance to continually improve over the weekend“, these are the words of the Frenchman. “There's no time to experience everything in 60 minutes of PL1. I think this change was right“.
Changes approved in F1 Commission
The main topic of discussion at the F1 Commission was the format of the six Sprint weekends of the 2024 season (Shanghai, Miami, Red Bull Ring, Austin, Sao Paulo and Lusail). An agreement was reached in the Commission on the new format, which includes PL1 and Sprint qualifying on Friday, Sprint and Grand Prix qualifying on Saturday and the canonical race on Sunday. Saturday, therefore, will no longer be exclusively dedicated to the Sprint format, as happened last year. The other changes concern DRS and power units: the proposal to increase the allocation of power units per pilot from three to four for both 2024 and 2025 was approved, while the mobile wing can be operated after the end of the first lap of the race or restart from the Safety Car.
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