Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto said that fans should get ready for what could be a chaotic Sprint Qualifying race on Saturday at Silverstone, as the new Grand Prix format is set to be attempted for the very first time later this month, when the British Grand Prix is scheduled to take place.
The event at Silverstone will be made up of the usual full-length race on Sunday afternoon, but the starting grid placements for the actual Grand Prix will be decided by the finishing order of Saturday’s sprint race – or a ‘sprint qualifying’ session.
Despite the fact that Mattia Binotto is confident fans will experience exciting moments as a result of the new format, the Ferrari boss also points to the possibility of a messy affair, taking into consideration that it is the first time a format like this has ever been attempted in Formula 1. At the same time, Pirelli will also bring a new tyre compound for the British Grand Prix, which will only add to the unpredictability factor:
“I suppose we should keep in mind that we’ve got a new tyre specification for Silverstone. We tested it here in Austria, but the team needs again to have some more experience on it. And there will be very little time for it because we’ve got only the Friday morning before going into the Quali race. So I think that we’ll be going straight into the quali with a new spec. Anyway, it’s a new format, we have very little experience. That really will be exciting. It could be exciting. I think that there may be some mess because the settlement is not optimal. I think that the lack of [similar] experiences means that we are going to get a lot of retirees, so I think it can be a great race weekend in that respect.” – Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Mattia Binotto explained, ahead of the first trial weekend for the sprint qualifying Formula 1 format.
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