The biggest and most intriguing novelty of the 2021 Formula 1 season will be – it now seems practically certain – the introduction of three sprint races during the championship.
Some details are already well known by now. These events will take place on Saturday, will be also represet qualifying for the traditional Sunday Grand Prix and will not have a grid based on an inverted grid, but on a ‘normal’ early qualifying session on Friday. The teams all appeared to a large extent in favor of this idea, including Mercedes which instead blocked the experiment proposed last year precisely because of the reverse grid. The three locations that should host these Super Qualifying are also now known: Silverstone, Monza and Interlagos.
However, one of the nodes that has not yet been definitively resolved seems to be the one concerning the points. Initially it was thought no points were going to be assigned. Then there was the idea to reward the first six places with the scoring system that Formula 1 had used from 1991 to 2002, that is 10 points to the first, six to the second, four to the third and so on. Now, from Germany, a further solution emerges. It would in fact be a middle ground. According to the German site Auto Motor and Sport in fact, the plan would be award points only to the drivers who reach the podium. 3-2-1, to the top three. In fact, the fear is that – by assigning too many points – they risk favoring the teams already at the top even more.
Finally, a further clarification will then be given on technical issues. In fact, it will be necessary to understand how these three ‘extra’ mini-races will affect the quota of certain components of the car. What appears very likely is that the teams will be able to replace the brakes and any damaged parts between the two races, for safety reasons. For Sunday’s Grand Prix there will also be free choice of tyre compounds.
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