[ad_1]
Formula 1 organizers at a meeting on Tuesday approved a new format for the popular 62-mile Sprint race during grand prix weekends, which was first introduced in 2021 as an alternative to the traditional qualifying session.
Under the original format, a traditional knockout style qualifying session was held on Friday to determine the starting positions of the Sprint race on Saturday. The Sprint race results will then determine the starting grid for Sunday’s main race.
Sprint events also award the winner eight points on the way to the championship title, and this will drop one point for the next seven positions. Points are also awarded to teams.
Under the new format, there will be a traditional qualifying session on Friday to determine the starting grid for Sunday’s main race. A second, shorter qualifying session, called the Sprint Shootout, will be held on Saturday to determine the starting grid for the Sprint race. The Sprint race will be held on Saturday.
That means the Sprint race will now be a standalone event with no impact on the main race, although it will still have the same championship points as in the previous format. Issues or incidents in Sprint races will no longer interfere with the main race, which organizers say will encourage drivers to try harder during Sprint races. Organizers also said there would be more “danger”, as teams would have fewer training sessions.
F1 will stage six rounds of the new Sprint format in 2023, starting with this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
The weekend schedule for the Sprint format is as follows:
Friday – A practice session followed by traditional qualification for the main race.
Saturday – Shorter qualifying session for the Sprint race (Sprint Shootout) followed by a Sprint race.
Sunday – Main race only.
[ad_2]
Source link
