In Baku for the first time?
The wind of innovation is blowing nicely through Formula 1, it seems. After all, not only is the cancellation of free practice sessions being considered, an extra qualification in a sprint race weekend is also on the table.
It is clear that a lot of thought is being given to ways to make Formula 1 more attractive. For example, the top man of F1, Stefano Domenicali, suggests doing fewer free practice sessions every race weekend. That is not the only change discussed. According to Haas team boss Günther Steiner, there is also an idea ready to hold not one but two qualifying sessions in sprint race weekends, reports include NU.nl.
The idea would be to qualify on Friday for the GP that takes place on Sunday. Then there is an extra qualification for the sprint race on Saturday, instead of the second free practice. Shortly after that extra qualification is already the sprint race, the result of which (contrary to how it is now) no longer has any consequences for the starting grid on Sunday. It can lead to the drivers in the sprint races daring to take more risks and therefore there is more spectacle. With a good qualifying result on Friday you can already be assured of a good starting position for the Grand Pix, so a possible failure or relapse in the sprint race is less painful. Max Verstappen is probably not a fan of this new plan anyway.
How and when it will all work remains to be seen. Rumor has it that this will be done immediately in the first weekend with a sprint race, at the end of April for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. Red Bull team boss Christian Horner wouldn’t think that’s a great idea, because then the risk of damage may be even greater. He is not a fan of a sprint race in Baku anyway: “The first sprint race of the year on a tight street circuit with walls around it is ridiculous, but from the fans’ perspective it will probably be the most exciting sprint race of the year.”
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl