Following the Azerbaijan Grand Prix weekend, which concluded with another one-two finish for Red Bull, this time with Sergio Perez ahead of Max Verstappen, several driver were asked for their opinion on the newly revised Formula 1 Sprint format and some made a few suggestions which they feel could improve the show.
The changes to the Formula 1 Sprint weekend were officially confirmed a few days before the fourth round of the 2023 Formula One championship, but were reported by the media a few weeks ago, as team were already in agreement. As a result, the Baku weekend features two qualifying sessions, one for the main race on Sunday and one for the Sprint event, which also took place on Saturday.
The new format was generally appreciated by the drivers who during the previous season had opted for a low-risk approach to the Sprint races given that it could ruin their chances for Sunday’s Grand Prix in case of a mistake that would force them to start from the back of the grid.
Now this problem has been solved with two qualifying sessions, but the FIA is still looking for drivers’ feedback in order to further identify changes that could make the new format even more exciting for the fans as well as the parties directly involved.
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“I don’t hate this format. I think it’s a better format than last year’s Sprint format,” – Scuderia Ferrari Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc replied when quizzed about the Baku weekend. The Ferrari man once again showed his impressive abilities around the Baku street circuit, taking pole position both for the Sprint event and also for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
“I wouldn’t want this to be the standard format in the future, I think it’s fine if we have three, four races like that in a year.” – he continued.
At the same time, the changes to the Sprint format and the introduction of the second qualifying session also meant some interesting rule changes in terms of tyres. For the Sprint Shootout on Saturday, drivers had to use new medium tyres in SQ1 and SQ2, then switched to soft compounds for the final phase of the Sprint Shootout.
McLaren decided to use all of Lando Norris’s soft tyres in the first qualifying session, to give him a better chance of securing a solid starting place for Sunday’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but that meant the British driver was sidelined in SQ3 as he did not have a new set of red-walled Pirelli tyres available.
“Things I would like to change maybe is the role of the new soft in SQ3, I think, to be able to at least use a use soft time,” Charles Leclerc pointed out. – “There are a few things that can be changed to be to improve those weekends.” – the Monegasque driver added.
Red Bull’s Sergio Perez, who won Saturday’s encounter and also the main race on Sunday, seemed to agree with the Ferrari man:
“I’m happy if we if we have three, four races like this. [It’s] Just making sure we correct small details like the timing, like the usage of the tyres. I think it looks really bad to have, I think two cars without tyres in Q3 Just to make sure that we correct for that and when you just have few races like this on the year, maximum.” – the Mexican explained.
Sergio Perez also believes that the timings between the Sprint Shootout and F1 Sprint should be changed because the current format ramps up the pressure on drivers and teams: “Especially for the top teams, it can only go wrong for you” – the Mexican pointed out – “Just making a mistake can be extremely costly throughout the weekend. Already from the first practice session, especially in a circuit like this, where there is no room for errors. The format as well, I felt like after doing the Sprint quali, there’s like four hours waiting. I think it’s just a little bit too much. Probably we have Just to review the timings and try to make it a bit more efficient, try to keep everyone more in the zone, and make it a little bit shorter.” – Sergio Perez concluded.
The next five races on the Formula 1 calendar will take place based on the regular weekend format, while the next Sprint race is scheduled to take place at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
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