Ferrari favorable aux qualifications du vendredi Ferrari favorable to Friday qualifications

The sprint race format in a Formula 1 weekend is once again being questioned. While Jean Todt admitted that the second free practice session made no sense, the only Friday practice session is well received by several drivers.

Since the start of the season, the practice sessions have been reduced to 60 minutes instead of 120 minutes. Less time for the drivers and teams to test the strategies established during the week, but more importantly, less boring for the fans. In the conditions of a sprint race weekend, the drivers must prepare for the qualifying session on Friday. For Charles Leclerc, this format is interesting and positive, making Friday less boring. “I like this format for Friday. It is something positive. I get a bit bored during a normal Friday, because in FP1 and FP2, you have nothing to gain and nothing to lose. You do a few more laps, which is always good, but you have so many other chances to recover what you lost in FP1, for example,” he said. With only one session, the drivers push the limits of their car and try to find the best tires for qualifying. “In this format, FP1 is really worth pushing and finding the limits. It’s also good for us, the drivers, to just go out on track and push right away. It’s more interesting for television as well,” concluded the Ferrari driver.

A speech echoed by Sainz, his teammate. The Spaniard believes that Friday has become more exciting with the qualifying sessions. In the first free practice session, drivers can therefore give it their all to best prepare for the afternoon qualifying. “I think Friday is better for everyone, it’s progress. FP1 is exciting, because you know you can’t make mistakes and you have to learn quickly. It also forces teams to be up to date and at the top of their game with simulations in order to try to showcase a good car as early as Friday,” stated Sainz.

A sprint race pointed out

The sprint race is not unanimous. In Monza, it received mixed reviews, unlike Silverstone. Considered rather boring, except for the start, the sprint race did not achieve its goal in Italy. That is, to make a race weekend more attractive in order to make F1 even more competitive. It should be noted that apart from Pierre Gasly’s retirement on the first lap and a duel between Lewis Hamilton and Lando Norris, not much happened. However, Leclerc and Sainz believe that this format must be improved to be more interesting for both fans and drivers. “I didn’t enjoy it as much in Monza. And I think there might be room to try something different. There have already been quite a few ideas, and we are more or less all on the same page to try something new,” the Monegasque reiterated. Sainz believes that the Saturday format lacks enthusiasm compared to traditional qualifying. “I agree with Charles. We need to find a way to make Saturday a bit more exciting, as at the moment, I don’t think it generates much excitement. I don’t think a sprint race is more exciting than Saturday’s qualifying,” explained the Spaniard.

During the weekend of the Italian Grand Prix, Ferrari team boss Mattia Binotto would like to experiment with races using a reversed grid. The reversed grid would place championship leaders at the back of the qualifying race. It would then determine the hierarchy for the start of the Sunday race. “I think the new format is still a positive experience, if you look at it over the whole weekend.Overall, we had to judge it positively. How can we improve it? There are some ideas like the reversed grid,” Binotto suggested. At the beginning of 2021, F1 ruled out adding the reversed grid format in favor of testing the sprint race. It should be noted that the sprint race is being tested for three Grand Prix this season: Silverstone, Monza, and Brazil. So far, the feedback remains mixed. F1, the FIA, and team principals are already discussing to find solutions.