The Azerbaijan Grand Prix’s lack of excitement was defended by Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur and should not be linked to the recently modified Sprint weekend format according to the former Alfa Romeo boss.
Despite the fact that the F1 Commission approved changes to the schedule a week before the Baku event, featuring just one practice session, two qualifying sessions, and two races at the Baku City Circuit, with parc ferme regulations in place before the first qualifying session, Frederic Vasseur said the format was not responsible for the limited on-track action which we say on Sunday in Azerbaijan.
Due to the strict schedule, teams failed to adjust their setups accurately, making it difficult for any car to get ahead of others, resulting in a dull grand prix. Mercedes Team Principal Toto Wolff argued that the modified format had affected the prospect of an exhilarating main event, and other paddock members have also called for adjustments to be made in the future.
At the same time Ferrari boss Frederic Vasseur has defended the format of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix explaining that there are also other races in the previous years that were not very exciting, despite the fact that they took place based on the normal race weekend format, as pointed out by the French manager after the 2023 event at the Baku City Circuit:
“The fact the race was not so exciting has nothing to do with the format,” Fred Vasseur said when asked about the media on this matter – “For me, the format was exciting because all the sessions are important and I can imagine that for the fans and spectators, that when all the sessions are important… it is true that the second free practice session could be a bit boring.” – he added.
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“The fact the race was not so exciting, if you look over the last [seven] years, Baku is really up and down because very often you have a train of DRS and if the first car of the train has a huge top speed, you can do 200 laps like this and never have someone be able to overtake and sometimes it is a bit tough. But on the other hand, in Baku we have also had some very exciting races in the past and it has nothing to do with the format.” – Ferrari team principal Frederic Vasseur concluded in his interview for the media on Sunday.
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