This weekend, the Brazilian Grand Prix takes place based on the Sprint race format, which is the third and final Sprint event of the 2022 Formula 1 season, after the ones staged in Imola and Austria earlier in the year. At the Italian track, the Sprint was animated by Max Verstappen’s fight with Scuderia Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, as the Red Bull man lost the lead at the start but was able to recover it by passing the Monegasque at the Variante del Tamburello, a move through which the Red Bull driver regained his pole position for the race start the following day at Imola.
In Austria, the duel between the the Ferrari F1-75 cars of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz gave a bit of show in the first laps of the race and now we will see tomorrow what the 24 laps scheduled in the Interlagos Sprint have in store for us. One year ago, at the Brazilian Grand Prix Sprint race, Lewis Hamilton recovered up to fifth position after being disqualified from the Qualifying session due to the damaged (and therefore irregular) rear wing which forced the seven-time world champion to start the Sprint event from the bottom of the starting grid.
The drivers have already expressed their dissent towards the Sprint format, with Max Verstappen among the most vocal of all. The drivers’ argument is simple and incontrovertible: it is useless to risk a few points when the order of arrival on Saturday determines the starting grid for the Grand Prix. The fact that the Sprint determines the starting grid has already created quite a few statistical embarrassments regarding the assignment of the pole position which this year is given at the end of Qualifying although that may not actually be the driver starting from P1 on Sunday.
Formula 1 chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali and Liberty Media, in view of the 2023 Formula 1 campaign, when the Sprint race will increase from three to six, are considering a solution that would effectively solve all these problems in one fell swoop or make the Sprint an independent event without it determining the starting grid for the Grand Prix.
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Qualifying early on Friday would be valid for the Grand Prix, while the Sprint according to Stefano Domenicali and his team would be an independent event on Saturday. Determining the starting line-up for the Sprint at this point may not depend strictly on Friday’s Qualifying.
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