FLOYD ON F1: Jury still out on sprint format

Trial number one for the “new improved” F1 weekend is over and done, but the discussions will no doubt be rumbling on until the second trial run which may happen at Monza. As will the first-lap incident between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen be.

F1’s Ross Brawn was delighted with the outcome of the format last weekend but suggests there are still a few tweaks to be made. Interesting that not every driver appeared to be enthralled and some reserved judgment on the latest venture to give more entertainment to the fans. Did it succeed? That is difficult to assess.

After all, it was the British Grand Prix at Silverstone – beautiful weather and the first time spectators were able to attend en masse – 140 000 on the Sunday. Plus, a win for Sir Lewis Hamilton after a controversial first lap incident. Not exactly the ideal situation to reach an unbiased spectator opinion.

Bizarre weekend

It was one of the most bizarre F1 weekends I have experienced – and over the years there have been a few. I freely admit to being a strong traditionalist and perhaps that fact does influence my view on the experimental format.
Friday morning’s practice was as usual, apart from the fact both practice sessions had already been cut from 90 minutes to 60 minutes for the 2021 season, Saturday’s third practice remaining at one hour.

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Some of the reasons for such cuts were given as possible cost savers for the less affluent teams, plus cars will have to spend more time on track rather than sitting in the garage, which is tedious for the fans. The latter is a little weird – after all no one forces said fans to watch any practice session.

But, teams do require time to trial components, set up for the race and allow “rookie” F1 drivers to get track time. Let us not forget most of the season testing has been removed.

So now we replace the second hour of Friday practice with qualifying, in a later time slot than usual to accommodate fans and television viewers. That ensures they can either reach the circuit or settle into the recliner chair in front of the box. Incidentally. spectators at the circuit have a two and a half hour wait between practice and qualifying.

Qualifying is a vital time for the teams, it is the period when the car’s setup will be tested for the all-important grid position.

Testing times

The reduced testing time must push engineers to the limit to ensure the cars are at peak performance – to achieve what? The teams must spend another frantic hour, on Saturday morning preparing for the F1 qualifying sprint – remember not to call it a “race” as that is frowned upon by the powers that be.

Lining up on the grid in their qualifying positions, the cars then drive around the track to see who is fastest to the finish line and who is on pole for the next day’s Grand Prix.

Once more fans at the circuit face a large gap between practice and the Sprint – this time it is a three and a half hour wait to watch a sprint with a maximum duration of 30 minutes.

Then it is Sunday and finally the event everyone has been waiting for, the Grand Prix. I am at a loss to understand what this format will really achieve.

They are further reducing practice times, and then bringing in a qualifying session that isn’t, as all competitors have to run a second qualifying, this time as a “sprint”.

Then they follow all this with the Grand Prix, or perhaps we should be calling that a “time trial”?

Spectator value

All of this for the benefit of fans in the name of entertainment. This was best summed up by a comment on an F1 website which said: “F1 should be the peak formula of the sport but it has just become another game show for television.” Indeed.

The race was set to be an epic as the young pretender, Verstappen, took on the mighty seasoned champion Sir Hamilton, who had suffered a disappointment during the previous day’s qualifying sprint, when the Dutchman had snatched pole.

The start of the race gave a slight advantage to the Red Bull combatant and the ensuing activities had us all on the edge of our seats until the two cars touched in one of the fastest corners in F1. It resulted in Verstappen hitting a tyre barrier at around 280km/h.

The stewards put responsibility on Hamilton’s shoulders. He was given a 10-second penalty – the second lowest possible censure on the list.

Double standards?

This is worrying as the coming together of the Williams of George Russell and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz in the sprint resulted in a three-grid position penalty for the Englishman. I am sure Russell would have preferred the 10-second time penalty.

With the Red Bull comprehensively destroyed one has to wonder if such an incident occurred to any team in the sprint it certainly would have meant a non start for the Grand Prix.

Mercifully Verstappen survived the crash and has subsequently been discharged from hospital. Let us hope we will not experience any further such “dubious” coming together incidents.

During the Netherlands GP at Zandvoort, the crowd would certainly react differently than last Sunday’s lot.

Too see the latest standings in the 2021 F1 Driver’s Championship, click here.