Despite criticism, the format introduced in 2021, which defines the starting grids with a short race on Saturdays, will be played twice next year. Officially it has not been specified in which events and with what changes they will be played.
After two seasons of existence within the Formula 1 World Championship, sprint racing has generated a clear division of opinion between fans, drivers and teams on the positive or negative effect it has on Grand Prix. Far from shying away from the concept as some requested, those responsible for the championship have opted for double the presence of the sprint for the next seasonan extreme that has been ratified and confirmed by the FIA this Tuesday.
In this way, the World Motor Vehicle Council has approved via online expansion to six sprint races for the 2023 season. Their identity, for now, has not been specified, the only constant in these two years being their presence in a Sao Paulo Grand Prix that this year will also have it. Last season there were sprint races at the British and Italian GPs, and this season there were also sprint races at the Emilia-Romagna and Austria events.
“The sprints provide an exciting dynamic to the weekend format”
The president of the FIA, Mohamed ben Sulayem, emphasizes what he considers as the «continued growth and prosperity» that reflects this announcement, and ensures that an analysis has been made to study the impact that the extra sprint races will have. “We have adjusted some relevant parameters of our work to ensure that they continue to be regulated at the highest level. The sprint sessions provide an exciting dynamic to the weekend format, and have proven to be popular in the last two seasons. I am sure this positive trend will continue.”
For his part, Domenicali ponders the benefit of having competitive sessions on all three days of the weekend, including Friday as part of the decider. “The sprints provide action across three days, with drivers fighting for something from Friday through to the main event on Sunday, adding more drama and excitement to the weekend. Feedback from fans, teams, promoters and partners has been very positive.and the format is adding a new dimension to Formula 1, so we all want to ensure its future success.”
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Five sprints and only two winners so far
Until now, Five sprint races have been held in Formula 1, in the absence of the third and last of this year being held in Interlagos. At the moment, only two drivers have prevailed in this type of race, played at a third of the normal distance of a GP: Valtteri Bottas he won them at Monza and Interlagos last year, and Max Verstappen he launched his account in 2021 at Silverstone before expanding it this year by winning at Imola and the Red Bull Ring. The Dutchman, in fact, finished second behind Bottas in the two he did not win.
Since the first year of its application, the results of the sprint races have also served to draw up the starting grid for the final event, which led to the Monza controversy whereby Bottas, who had led the classification and won the sprint event, was not awarded pole position due to being the victim of multiple penalties. In this 2022, Friday’s qualifying is what decides pole position statisticallysomething that didn’t make much of a difference in practice as Verstappen won from pole in both.
In turn, the number of points received by the sprints was also increased, something that in principle should be maintained in 2023. Initially, only the first three were awarded three, two and one point, but this year the number of drivers scoring points has been increased to eight, with a purely decreasing order in which the winner adds eight points. Despite everything, the concept has not been exempt from criticism for giving a second chance for the big teams to recover from a bad position in qualifiersor for not offering a show that compensates for the additional competition and the risk of damage to the cars.
Photos: Formula 1