Finally… The long wait for the much anticipated, new cars, new rules, new driver line-ups, and potentially an all-new pecking order, with all-new rivalries is over! Formula 1 is back this weekend – and it all starts with the Bahrain GP where simply anything could happen.
F1 race weekends will look a little different from this year onwards, following a tweak to the schedule. Ahead of the season opener, take a look at some of the important changes to the weekend:
No Media on Thursday
Normally, teams would have most of their staff at track from Thursday morning, with media duties taking up a large part of the day. However, the pre-race driver press conference, which last year saw all 20 drivers speak in pairs over a 4-hour period, has been moved to Friday morning.
This means that Thursday means a later start, allowing some time to fly in that morning for European events rather than Wednesday. A 3.5 hour window has been marked out for team track walks, while the FIA will carry out their system checks and track inspections while teams will complete their engineering meetings.
Friday is Media day
The drivers’ press conference will be moved to Friday, and it will run over 2 hours and must finish 90 minutes before FP1
All three practice sessions will remain 60 minutes long – just like last year – with Saturday retaining its track schedule of final practice and qualifying, before the showpiece race on the Sunday.
The changes for 2022 do make Fridays longer but the bottom line is that – with a 23-race schedule and a Monaco shake-up in mind – they also save 24 days work for team personnel during a gruelling season.
Sunday remains unchanged
The highlight of the weekend – the Grand Prix – remains the showpiece event on Sunday, with its exact time depending on race location and time zones.
There will still be a drivers parade where all 20 drivers jump on a low-loader truck or take a seat in a classic car to lap the circuit while being interviewed, and this will happen 2 hours before the race start.
It’s certainly not long to go now until we hear those seven magical words: It’s lights out and away we go!
