Ferrari propose Sprint Qualifying races in F1 double-headers. Ferrari propose Sprint Qualifying races in F1 double-headers.

Although the coronavirus is slowly loosening its grip, at least at this time of the year, in Europe, its presence still continues to make our everyday life difficult. The 2021 Formula 1 season will certainly not be as risky as last year, but the calendar continues to suffer cancellations, and last-minute postponements are always a possibility. Just yesterday we received the announcement of the Australian GP cancellation, as Melbourne was supposed to organize what should have been the 21st round of the season (19 – 21 November). Not to mention the last few weeks, which Formula 1 spent them at the Red Bull Ring to deal with the impossibility of racing in Turkey (which in turn had only committed a few days earlier to replace Canada).

In a situation like this, it is easily conceivable that a scenario can also be repeated in which you can go racing for two consecutive weekends on the same track just as happened at Spielberg. Speaking precisely of this possibility, Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto, however, invited everyone to consider the idea of ​​using the new format, including the Sprint Qualifying race, in one of the two events, so as to have a component of greater variability and be able to compare the two events: “If the opportunity arises again, in my opinion it would be worth having sprint qualifying on one of the two weekends. We, as Ferrari, are ready to support the initiative.” – said Mattia Binotto.

The next British Grand Prix at Silverstone (16 – 18 July) will be the first test for this format and if it is successful, it will probably be repeated in two other events during this 2021. At that point, with good reason, the top management of Formula 1 might also think of promoting it in situations similar to those they had in Austria.

Having said that, despite the fact that two races were held at the Red Bull Ring based on the exact same program, it was still possible to have two rather different events (except for the winner, the second GP had different implications than the first) with the element of diversity, in this case, being attributed to the tire manufacturer Pirelli: “I think the Spielberg organizers did an excellent job to ensure the smooth running of both events. Thanks to Pirelli for having decided to differentiate the two nominations: this allowed us to have a substantially different race from the previous one.” – Scuderia Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto concluded.