At Silverstone, Formula 1 turned its history upside down and took a decisive step towards the future, competing in the first Sprint Qualifying. A short race, lasting 100 km, which defined the starting grid for the British Grand Prix the next day and also awarded some points, albeit very few: three, two and one to the top three. At the end of the weekend Ross Brawn, the main proponent of this new format, discussed about the first impressions. A full assessment can only be given after the completion of all three Sprint Qualifying events scheduled for this year. But some ideas to work on are already there.
The first, which mainly concerns a statistical plan, is to return to assigning pole to the fastest driver in the ‘traditional’ qualifying on Friday, changing the name of the ‘mini-race’ on Saturday. The second, decidedly more substantial and relevant, concerns the points to be awarded for this ‘sprint race’. In fact, many have pointed out that more points given and extended to more drivers could further add ‘salt’ to the Saturday event. For future seasons, Ross Brawn himself, interviewed by the English site RaceFans, confirmed the possibility of several changes of the format, revealing the reasons that led to assigning only three points to the winner for 2021.
“If I have to be honest they had initially thought of assigning more points” – revealed the former Ferrari manager – “we arrived at the points we have now because we were a bit worried that the Sprint Qualifying could end up awarding the title if it took place later in the season. If you had 10 points for the sprint race, then … in fact, our initial proposal was to assign about a third of the points [compared to a ‘classic race], because it lasts a third of a race. But I think it is something that can be discussed. It is not an untouchable subject. It is certainly blocked for this year, but I think that if we continue with this format, there will certainly be some discussion on the way points are awarded. By assigning more points, it makes the competition more attractive.” – Ross Brawn concluded.
Leave a Reply