The news, which emerged during the last few days, of a return to free practice sessions lasting 90 minutes – instead of 60 as was the case last year, cam as a surprise for many. In fact, the half-hour reduction of both free practice sessions was positively received last year by teams, drivers and also fans. The action on the track had been more concentrated, with less moments without any cars on track and the need for the teams to speed up all operations to gather as much data as possible in a short period of time ahead of the qualifying session.
Now, however, an indiscretion arrives from the Netherlands according to which, in reality, the FIA has no intention of restoring the hour and a half of activity for the first two sessions, as had been the case until 2020. What appears in the sporting regulations for the 2022 Formula 1 championship, at least in the latest version that can be consulted on the official website of the Federation, updated on 30 April 2021, would in fact be the result of a huge transcription error. The old regulation, which included two sessions of 90 minutes each, would therefore have been copied and pasted.
This news was given by De Telegraaf journalist Erik van Haren, who confirmed that next year all three ‘traditional’ FP rounds, that is on weekends without the Sprint Race format, will last 60 minutes. “Contrary to what was previously said, free practice this year will remain 60 minutes instead of 90 minutes. The information received and checked with the FIA was still based on old communications,” explained Erik van Haren in a recent posts on Twitter. The Dutch journalist also confirmed Formula 1’s intention to have six Sprint Races next year. One of these could be Zandvoort. However, the agreement on any extra-budget to be provided to the teams still needs to be defined.
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