Max Verstappen didn’t warm up to the new sprint format that Formula 1 tested for the first time in Baku: “It’s not real racing, it’s more like poker,” he says. “I think I’ll be more successful in Las Vegas if I go to the casino,” said the Dutchman, who sees the new Sprint as more of a format “made for the show”.
“Of course it’s important to have entertainment, but I think if all the cars were closer together, you’d have better entertainment than trying to,” says the Red Bull driver.
“It’s like saying in a football game when the score is 3-0, let’s start again at 0-0. I don’t think that’s necessary,” he clarified.
Formula 1 had first experimented with a new sprint format in Azerbaijan, which was only approved a few days before the event. Saturday was separated from the rest of the weekend and a new shootout qualifying was introduced in the morning, which forms the starting grid for the sprint.
Too many relevant sessions
As a result, the second practice session was canceled so that there was only one practice session before the drivers had to complete two qualifying sessions and two race events.
That was too much of a good thing for some pilots: “There is too much pressure, because the top teams can only lose. A mistake at the weekend is extremely expensive, and there is no room for mistakes right from the training session,” says Sergio Perez. “It’s bringing you down.”
The Mexican didn’t like the schedule either: There was a break of around four hours between the shortened qualifying shootout and the sprint race on Saturday, during which the drivers only had to wait – also because the cars are no longer allowed to be changed.
“That was a bit much,” says the Red Bull driver. “We need to look at the schedule again and try to make it a little more efficient.”
Three to four sprints a year okay?
Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc is at least not entirely averse: “I don’t hate the format,” he says. He thinks it’s a better format than the previous sprints of the 2021 and 2022 Formula 1 seasons. “I prefer this, but I don’t want it to be the new standard format either.”
It’s okay for him if it’s three or four times a season, but no more than that. “As Checo said, it just puts more pressure on the drivers because you can only make a mistake in one session. After that, every lap is important,” said the Monegasque.
He also sees room for improvement – such as the schedule just mentioned. But he would also reconsider the tire rule. Because only a new soft can be used in the new SQ3, Lando Norris had to watch. “It’s a shame if he can’t drive because he doesn’t have a new soft anymore,” he says.
Perez agrees with his colleague and agrees that this shouldn’t become the new standard format. “A normal weekend makes it exciting and better for the fans,” he says. “We grew up with it and it should stay that way. But if it’s like that for three or four races, then that’s fine too.”
Verstappen: In the bin with it!
His teammate Verstappen is known to have a different opinion: “You should throw the whole thing in the bin,” he says very clearly. “It’s important that we go back to what we had and make sure that every team can fight to win. That’s what we should do and not try to introduce all this artificial excitement.”
The introduction of a second qualifying session instead of practice didn’t make it any better for him – although he actually loves qualifying: “I was bored,” he admits. “I thought: My God, another qualifying session? That’s really not fun for me.”