Formula One’s controversial and much disliked sprint format got its second change over the winter break, and the Chinese GP weekend was the first chance to see if the tweaks had an improved effect on the show.
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Among the many complaints the previous sprint weekend structure had, the main sticking points were that the ‘Sprint Saturday’ created a disjointed feel to the weekend as Qualifying for the main race was on Friday afternoon, and with no parc ferme changes allowed, the Saturday sprint essentially became ‘stint zero’ for the Grand Prix.
For 2024, the sprint shootout takes place on Friday rather than Saturday morning with parc ferme rules in place until the end of the sprint race on Saturday morning, with teams then allowed to make adjustments to the cars ahead of qualifying for the Grand Prix before parc ferme rules re- apply.
The set- up changes teams can make therefore allow for swings in performance and while the clues are still there as to who will be quickest, it’s more of a taster for the main event rather than a spoiler.
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“With the ability to be able to make a change [between the sprint race and qualifying] and potentially try and close the gap to the Red Bulls or at least to whoever’s ahead of us is great for the race weekend,” said Lewis Hamilton of the changes. “Before you were just stuck and you’d absolutely know the race result, but now we have something new and exciting.”
And the idea that the sprint would feel like an even more pointless take-it-or-leave-it session with the storylines from qualifying making it almost a forgotten after thought, in Shanghai at least, that wasn’t the case.
It added more ‘bang for your buck’ for some fans who might not be so interested in following the practice sessions, without creating that disconnected feel to the weekend that so many hated.
Changes can still be made
But, despite the fact you could say the changes have been somewhat of a qualified success, many in F1 still feel more could be done to improve the format and make use of its potential.
Fernando Alonso feels that the rules should allow for more tyres to be used for the sprint weekends (teams have 12 sets per car rather than 13 on a normal weekend) as FP1 is about “who runs less” to use the least number of sets which is a shame for people attending the event.
He also, rather cryptically (given he was awarded a penalty and three points on his license for breaching the ‘Driving Standard Guidelines’ in his aggressive battle with Carlos Sainz during the sprint race), said the FIA should relax the racing rules to create better on track fighting.
“If they want a sprint race for the show and for overtaking, then let them race, if you don’t let them then it’s better not to race,” said the Spaniard.
Lewis Hamilton added to the fact that changes could be made to better improve the spectacle for people at the circuit saying that a lot of time is wasted during sprint weekends where fans could be more entertained.
“I think there’s a lot of time wasted on these weekends,” said Hamilton. “We could shorten the days or pack the days more so that the fans have more of an experience.
“There’s literally at least 10 hours wasted during the day where we could be entertaining the fans on track but of course sustainability has to come into that.”
Last year some were even calling for reverse grid sprint races to improve the show, and despite the idea being shut down by many, it would add an extra layer of intrigue and would no doubt produce some thrilling races.
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It would certainly give the lower teams something to fight for, as under the current format of points that only go down the eighth place, the only real hope for a team not in the top five, is for a bit of misfortune for those ahead, or some rain to close the order. But the likelihood of that happening at most events. Very slim.
For now at least, F1 will continue to go ahead with the changes it’s made after what has been a good opening weekend for the new format with a genuinely exciting sprint race on Saturday morning – without the feeling it’s completely giving the result of the Grand Prix away – and better flow to the weekend with Qualifying back in its normal time slot.
But it cannot be ignored that – thanks to the rain in SQ3 on Friday throwing up a slightly skewed starting order – on a more conventional weekend a boring sprint race could lead to the questions about their place in F1, and whether radical changes need to be made to make them work, to come to the fore just as it so often did last season.