2024 F1 Sprint changes: scenarios and risks of latest revolution

Earlier this week, the Formula 1 Commission approved modifications that will alter the course of the Sprint weekend. The shootout will now take place on Friday afternoon, while the sprint moves to Saturday morning. The F1 is also considering reopening the Parc Fermé between sessions, but the decision to shuffle the weekend opens up various scenarios and potential risks in case of accidents.

On the technical front, the 2024 Formula 1 season doesn’t bring significant changes compared to the last championship, with regulations remaining essentially unchanged, including the decision to allow the use of 4 Power Units throughout the championship this year.

However, on the sporting side, there are several novelties, including the early activation of DRS and a modification to the weekend format, especially those involving the sprint. Until last year, all short events took place in a single day, with the Shootout on Saturday morning and the sprint in the afternoon. However, this setup posed challenges as the Friday Grand Prix qualifications did not ensure a seamless weekend.

The F1 Commission had discussed towards the end of 2023 to find a better rationalization of the sprint format, aiming to more orderly structure the day dedicated to short sessions compared to the rest of the regular weekend. An agreement was only reached in the last meeting earlier this week, leading to a reorganization of the weekend.

On Fridays, free practice 1 and the qualifying session for the sprint shootout will take place. However, the change occurs on Saturday. On the morning of the second day of on-track action, the sprint race will be held, and in the afternoon, drivers will return to the track for the 300 km Grand Prix qualifying, which remains on Sunday, following tradition.

Other scenarios were considered, such as one suggesting FP1 on Friday, followed immediately by the sprint with a grid determined based on the reverse order among the top 10 in the championship standings. On Saturday, FP2 and the race qualifications would take place. It’s no secret that F1 has always been interested in the possibility of introducing a reversed grid, although drivers and teams have been cautious on this topic.

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Another proposal involved inverting the top 10 positions on the starting grid for the race at the end of the shootout. However, to encourage drivers to give their best instead of intentionally aiming for a lower position in the top 10 to start further ahead, there were discussions about offering extra points in qualification. However, determining how many points would be awarded in the shootout, considering that those for the sprint are already reduced, poses a challenge. The sprint winner currently receives only 8 points, and providing additional points in qualification risks devaluing the short race.

Among the reasons prompting F1 to reconsider the format are changes to Parc Fermé. Last year, both teams and drivers complained about not being able to make changes to their cars, needing to approve the setup after just one free practice session. If a team made an error in the setup for the sprint, it affected the entire weekend, with the option to make some adjustments but starting from the pit lane, as Aston Martin and Haas did in the United States.

Few details of the new version have emerged in Monday’s F1 Commission statement because they are yet to be discussed and approved in the next meeting. The basic plan potentially involves two Parc Fermé: one covering the sprint events and another from qualifying to the race. While the final details are still unconfirmed, drivers have welcomed this change, discussing it during the presentations.

The significant difference from the previous format would be that teams now have the chance to make changes to the setup and components between the sprint and the main qualifications. However, exactly how this will work and what will be allowed is yet to be decided. Time is of the essence, with the first sprint being the Chinese Grand Prix in April.

One concern expressed by teams is that, while they welcome the freedom to make changes, it will increase the workload for mechanics, who will need to act quickly during breaks with more competitive sessions. This additional work is compounded by extra work in the factory using simulators to leverage sprint data and find the best compromise until the last possible moment.

For FIA officials, the Parc Fermé on Fridays is problematic, as stewards must inspect cars for two days, not just from Saturday afternoon, as in a normal weekend without the sprint.

Another problem with the new format is the evident risk that a serious incident in the sprint may compromise a driver’s chances of participating in the subsequent qualification session. Considering incidents like Pierre Gasly’s at Monza in 2021 or Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon’s in Qatar last year, there would be little time available to intervene in case of severe accidents.

From this perspective, there should be an opening from the FIA and F1 to allow teams to have spare chassis ready for use on these occasions. Currently, this is not possible: teams are allowed to have a spare chassis, but with few pieces installed before a certain time, or they face starting from the pit lane, as Logan Sargeant did in Suzuka.

Formula 1 still has time to reach an agreement on the final details, as happened last year, with the approval of the Shootout qualification just a few days before the race in Azerbaijan. It is not excluded that a small note may be added to the regulations to provide greater freedom of action on this exceptional issue.