New race weekend format 2021

[El Scorchio]

So, qualifying on friday (which loads of people will probably now not be able to watch) decides the sprint race grid, and the results of the sprint race decide the sunday grid.

Assuming no ill fortune for anyone on friday or saturday, at best won't this just increase points gaps between the teams and drivers relative to what they are now? If people aren't sick of it now, does anyone want an extra few races with the same results- all i see is more opportunity for the Mercs to have a more comfortable points gap over everyone else- and Red Bull over third etc.

At worst, how harsh is the punishment going to be for getting damage in qualifying or the race now? Presumably if you break down in the sprint race you have to start from the back in the main race. That's now like a double penalty which will cost points on two occasions rather than just one. Same as if you break down in qualifying. You'll be at the back for the sprint and at the very least heavily compromised for the main race as well.

Not even considering the opportunities in sprint races for tactical 'incidental contact' between cars which could have huge ramifications in title battles. i wonder if it'll just mean everyone tiptoes round in a procession on saturday just to finish, in order to not screw up their chances on a sunday. No one is going to go for a risky overtake.

It seems the only real winners are the promoters, who can massively hike up their prices for Friday and Saturday, and the TV companies who can make more money out of Friday now. I don't understand what the gain is meant to be from a sporting or competitive aspect at all.

Hmm, extra work for wingmen?

I do not think this is or will be core of any issues. Of course a DNF in the sprint will affect more than the sprint, but on the other hand you have the chance to regain positions in the race.
The devil lies more in the detail:
- How do they handle tires? Usually the fastest car has the best tire usage. So there they need to turn a bit the usual handling to not emphasize this benefit. I would actually start the race on the first stint tire set in the top 5. This would lead to the early stops that compromise the strategies. Furthermore with the top10 on the Q2 tire you have some split and mix there as well and the top10 is actually too much. A top5 rule in the race together with the top10 in the sprint would mix.
- How do they assign points? Is the sum of a weekend with a sprint more than on a usual weekend?

Some interesting bits that I agree we really need to know. Points being an obvious one. Without awarding any for the sprint race, then it really does seem, well, pointless(!) Unless there's a slam dunk overtake on offer there's literally no worth in putting your car at any risk. If they DO award points then some weekends, then obviously there's going to be an unfair advantage in the championship toward cars which perform well on the chosen circuits. Also (I have to disagree with you on DNFs) I think they will be a huge factor. Imagine if Max takes pole on a circuit suited to the Red Bull, then suffers a DNF in the sprint race and starts from the back. He loses sprint points and then barring a miracle safety car type race, will be very lucky to finish higher than about 6th in the main race. That's potentially 25-35 points dropped for him which could effectively end a title challenge if a rival has a double win. In addition with the Red Bull being a little more fragile than other front running cars in 2020 at least, there's just more risk of mechanical DNFs.

Tyres is a very interesting issue. You'd hope they would come up with something creative to stop the sprints just being really dull. However you really don't want to screw up the actual race for the top 5 by forcing them to run on 5-10 lap old tyres. Most of them will just get eaten up by the cars behind on fresh rubber so why would you even want to finish in the top 5 of the sprint unless there were significant points on offer, but that then devalues the actual race?

It really feels like they've decided this without actually thinking of the real details and implications. At the end of the day unless there are loads of crashes or DNFs in sprint races, it will do nothing to shift the status quo and will probably just widen the gap between teams. All it could do is potentially turn it into a bit more of a lottery, which might be nice for a casual viewer- and we know Masi has a hard on for 'the show' so he will see it as a success if there's a crazy result- but not for any proper fans.

Anyway, we will have to see what the final plan is, but I really can't see anything that makes the product better than it is now or addresses the real issues.

Vettel doesn't like it at all, and Perez, Verstappen and Ricciardo agree.

“I don’t know what the thinking is behind it,” Vettel said.

“I don’t like it. Why would you have a pre-final to a final? What’s the point of that? I don’t understand it.
“Obviously if there is a race on Saturday, then I will have to take part because I still want to drive on Sunday, but from my point of view, it makes no sense.”

Vettel felt that if F1 had to change the format for a grand prix weekend, it was indicative of a greater problem that needs to be resolved.

The quotes from Domenicali about podiums suggest F! hasn't even got a proper plan themselves yet.

[Just_a_fan]

I'm still not sure how the sprint race helps anything. They're not doing a reverse grid from it, are they? So it just means the sprint race grid is set by who's fastest on Friday and then the race result sets the grid for Sunday. So the fastest cars will be at the front for both races barring incident. If you have an issue on Friday and can't run then you're starting the sprint race from the back. And then you'll either get taken out trying to fight through the lower/mid pack or end end up mid grid on Sunday. Where as normally you have a chance to sort your car's issue on Friday and qualify / race on merit during the rest of the weekend.

The whole idea seems to be a "let's try something different" rather than "there's a specific issue that we need to address and we've done some work and think this will help". It feels like the FIA/Liberty are hoping for incidents in the sprint race that then mix up the grid on Sunday. Well why not just have Sunday's grid drawn from a hat on Sunday morning? Makes as much sense.

[El Scorchio]

I'm still not sure how the sprint race helps anything. They're not doing a reverse grid from it, are they? So it just means the sprint race grid is set by who's fastest on Friday and then the race result sets the grid for Sunday. So the fastest cars will be at the front for both races barring incident. If you have an issue on Friday and can't run then you're starting the sprint race from the back. And then you'll either get taken out trying to fight through the lower/mid pack or end end up mid grid on Sunday. Where as normally you have a chance to sort your car's issue on Friday and qualify / race on merit during the rest of the weekend.

The whole idea seems to be a "let's try something different" rather than "there's a specific issue that we need to address and we've done some work and think this will help". It feels like the FIA/Liberty are hoping for incidents in the sprint race that then mix up the grid on Sunday. Well why not just have Sunday's grid drawn from a hat on Sunday morning? Makes as much sense.

Amen.

(Summed up better than I could)

[Juzh]

Vettel doesn't like it at all, and Perez, Verstappen and Ricciardo agree.

“I don’t know what the thinking is behind it,” Vettel said.

“I don’t like it. Why would you have a pre-final to a final? What’s the point of that? I don’t understand it.
“Obviously if there is a race on Saturday, then I will have to take part because I still want to drive on Sunday, but from my point of view, it makes no sense.”

Vettel felt that if F1 had to change the format for a grand prix weekend, it was indicative of a greater problem that needs to be resolved.

Vettel is a hardcore purist, the worst even among the old guard that's still around. He can't be taken seriously anymore in my opinion (V12 comments come to mind). If it were up to him F1 would be stuck in stone ages still. His time is running out fast anyway, and all these old dogs will eventually be replaced by more open minded young people. Same way as old Bernie had to be pushed out to make way for changes that ultimately made f1 better today (social media, ott streaming, netflix series bringing in new fans and so on).

Not to mention these comments from him make no sense. F1 is in fact introducing a remedy to a "greater problem" as he put it. And it's already happening with cost cap, new cars next year, subtle balance of performance based on wind tunnel and cfd performance.

It's 3 races and then we'll see how it goes. It's not the end of the world.

[basti313]

Hmm, extra work for wingmen?

I do not think this is or will be core of any issues. Of course a DNF in the sprint will affect more than the sprint, but on the other hand you have the chance to regain positions in the race.
The devil lies more in the detail:
- How do they handle tires? Usually the fastest car has the best tire usage. So there they need to turn a bit the usual handling to not emphasize this benefit. I would actually start the race on the first stint tire set in the top 5. This would lead to the early stops that compromise the strategies. Furthermore with the top10 on the Q2 tire you have some split and mix there as well and the top10 is actually too much. A top5 rule in the race together with the top10 in the sprint would mix.
- How do they assign points? Is the sum of a weekend with a sprint more than on a usual weekend?

Some interesting bits that I agree we really need to know. Points being an obvious one. Without awarding any for the sprint race, then it really does seem, well, pointless(!) Unless there's a slam dunk overtake on offer there's literally no worth in putting your car at any risk. If they DO award points then some weekends, then obviously there's going to be an unfair advantage in the championship toward cars which perform well on the chosen circuits. Also (I have to disagree with you on DNFs) I think they will be a huge factor. Imagine if Max takes pole on a circuit suited to the Red Bull, then suffers a DNF in the sprint race and starts from the back. He loses sprint points and then barring a miracle safety car type race, will be very lucky to finish higher than about 6th in the main race. That's potentially 25-35 points dropped for him which could effectively end a title challenge if a rival has a double win. In addition with the Red Bull being a little more fragile than other front running cars in 2020 at least, there's just more risk of mechanical DNFs.

Tyres is a very interesting issue. You'd hope they would come up with something creative to stop the sprints just being really dull. However you really don't want to screw up the actual race for the top 5 by forcing them to run on 5-10 lap old tyres. Most of them will just get eaten up by the cars behind on fresh rubber so why would you even want to finish in the top 5 of the sprint unless there were significant points on offer, but that then devalues the actual race?

It really feels like they've decided this without actually thinking of the real details and implications. At the end of the day unless there are loads of crashes or DNFs in sprint races, it will do nothing to shift the status quo and will probably just widen the gap between teams. All it could do is potentially turn it into a bit more of a lottery, which might be nice for a casual viewer- and we know Masi has a hard on for 'the show' so he will see it as a success if there's a crazy result- but not for any proper fans.

Anyway, we will have to see what the final plan is, but I really can't see anything that makes the product better than it is now or addresses the real issues.

Vettel doesn't like it at all, and Perez, Verstappen and Ricciardo agree.

“I don’t know what the thinking is behind it,” Vettel said.

“I don’t like it. Why would you have a pre-final to a final? What’s the point of that? I don’t understand it.
“Obviously if there is a race on Saturday, then I will have to take part because I still want to drive on Sunday, but from my point of view, it makes no sense.”

Vettel felt that if F1 had to change the format for a grand prix weekend, it was indicative of a greater problem that needs to be resolved.

The quotes from Domenicali about podiums suggest F! hasn't even got a proper plan themselves yet.

Good points.
Regarding the example Max DNFs in the sprint: Well, if you DNF due to technical reasons in the sprint, than you would (most probably) also have DNFed in a "normal" race. So points are gone for the race in any case. I do not think the sprint will get substantial points, maybe something like 10 and 5 for the win and 2nd. A 10 point loss in the sprit you can easily overcome with a good race result with a car capable of the win (mind the strong pace differences last year). So a "usual" DNF does not strike as hard as if there is only one race in my point of view.

Regarding the tires:
Maybe top 5 in the race is wrong....maybe start the first 5 in the sprint on Q tires, the first 10 in the race on stint 1 tires.
The current issue is, that the top tems do not even work with undercuts anymore. On some tracks the undercut is not strong and very general the distances between the cars are too big. That leaves the option for P1 and/or P2 to go longer than P2 and/or P3. Very booring. This has nothing to do with racing, this is only managing track position.
With the format of having to use stint 1 tires in the race you need to manage race pace, tires and track position equally. They do not have to be eaten up, they need to manage the tactics and stop earlier to have enough tire left for the race.
I am convinced, that without such a tire rule and without inverse grid we just see a copy of the race in the sprint. The sprint would be completely useless if there is not any connection to the race in terms of managing resources.

This resource management might also be done via fuel...in FE it is very successful, that you have only 2/3 of the energy you need. Like this heavy lift and cost is necessary, which triggers a lot of pace management and, thus, ways to overtake. Maybe a simple rule like, they can only refill 40l for the race in top 5 and 50l in top 10 would spice things up a lot. That would mean that the top cars have to manage fuel in the sprint.

[Just_a_fan]

Vettel doesn't like it at all, and Perez, Verstappen and Ricciardo agree.

“I don’t know what the thinking is behind it,” Vettel said.

“I don’t like it. Why would you have a pre-final to a final? What’s the point of that? I don’t understand it.
“Obviously if there is a race on Saturday, then I will have to take part because I still want to drive on Sunday, but from my point of view, it makes no sense.”

Vettel felt that if F1 had to change the format for a grand prix weekend, it was indicative of a greater problem that needs to be resolved.

Vettel is a hardcore purist,

You say that as if it's a bad thing.

"Just because you can change something, it doesn't mean you should."

Very easy to step on to the slide and find yourself with "fan boost", trackside water sprays, tyres designed to fail so that you get extra pit stops (oh, we've been there already and that worked well, didn't it?), etc.

I can't help but think that the changes to F1 are more about attracting the interest of people with short attention spans brought up on youtube clips and TV programmes with 5 minute long advertisement breaks every 10 minutes. F1 is a season-long boxing match with 90 minute rounds every fortnight. It's test cricket, not Twenty20. It's full 90 minute football, not 20 minute 5-a-side.

All of these attempts to "spice it up" are just papering over the cracks of a sport that is fundamentally broken - the problem is a simple one: the cars can't race each other because of the combination of aero concept and tyre concept. The sprint race format won't solve that fundamental issue. Indeed it will probably highlight it even further. Maybe that will be a good outcome - the sprint race format will show that the cars are fundamentally flawed. Although with the big changes due next year to the car concept, it would seem sensible to see how that changes goes before introducing other changes such as sprint races.

[Juzh]

Vettel doesn't like it at all, and Perez, Verstappen and Ricciardo agree.

“I don’t know what the thinking is behind it,” Vettel said.

“I don’t like it. Why would you have a pre-final to a final? What’s the point of that? I don’t understand it.
“Obviously if there is a race on Saturday, then I will have to take part because I still want to drive on Sunday, but from my point of view, it makes no sense.”

Vettel felt that if F1 had to change the format for a grand prix weekend, it was indicative of a greater problem that needs to be resolved.

Vettel is a hardcore purist,

You say that as if it's a bad thing.

"Just because you can change something, it doesn't mean you should."

Very easy to step on to the slide and find yourself with "fan boost", trackside water sprays, tyres designed to fail so that you get extra pit stops (oh, we've been there already and that worked well, didn't it?), etc.

It is a bad thing when you're stuck in some mindset unwilling to even consider any alternative. A reasonable compromise has to be made. It's never black and white.
Sprint races are a middle ground between outright gimmicks such as those you listed (and reverse grids in it's most extreme form) and just not doing anything.

[Just_a_fan]

Vettel is a hardcore purist,

You say that as if it's a bad thing.

"Just because you can change something, it doesn't mean you should."

Very easy to step on to the slide and find yourself with "fan boost", trackside water sprays, tyres designed to fail so that you get extra pit stops (oh, we've been there already and that worked well, didn't it?), etc.

It is a bad thing when you're stuck in some mindset unwilling to even consider any alternative. A reasonable compromise has to be made. It's never black and white.
Sprint races are a middle ground between outright gimmicks such as those you listed (and reverse grids in it's most extreme form) and just not doing anything.

I think the sensible route would be to see whether the much-anticipated aero changes next year have the desired effect. Let's be honest - the sprint race gimmick is about trying to make the racing interesting. Well, if the aero changes work, the racing will become interesting anyway. If they don't work, then try something else. But to try a gimmick before you've assessed the very large hardware changes strikes me as a bit of a cart-before-the-horse approach.

There is, in some quarters, an idea that racing has to be constant overtaking or it's boring. But very few, if any, series have that sort of overtaking. Overtakes are exciting when they're touch-and-go, when they're set up over several corners and then when the attempt comes it requires skill from both drivers to ensure a clean outcome. Well executed overtakes with well executed defending is where real motor racing excitement comes from. Even if the overtake itself never actually succeeds. Indeed, sometimes it the best racing of all - two or three laps of cut and thrust between two drivers that actually doesn't change anything. But it's great fun to watch - think back to 2014 Bahrain where the two Mercs were battling each other. We can have that without gimmicks if the fundamentals are sorted.


But that sort of racing isn't created by the weekend's format, it's created by having cars that can physically do it, on tracks that physically allow it, and drivers that have the skills to do it. Currently, we don't have the first except in a few rare situations, we only occasionally have the second (sadly too many modern tracks are rubbish for overtaking), and not all of the drivers meet the latter criteria. Gimmicks won't change that recipe. The sprint race format won't bring anything new to the sport because the basic requirements to be able to race are not being met.

[Morteza]

Didn't know where to post this, but here we go

[Manoah2u]

Perhaps the sprint race will be with special tires, and constant DRS availability?
How about a different track layout?!

[hollus]

Some drivers are know for a sixth sense in the first corner and for pulling a magic number of overtakes in the first lap, where there is traffic, everybody is in dirty air and everybody has changing grip due to cold tires.
Now those drivers will get 2 first laps and start performance becomes twice and important.

Just trying to point out potential positives, overall I am not quite sold on this. I smell the half-baked product of a committee of corporations looking at extra dollars.

[Stu]

It only really works as a racing spectacle if the grid for the main race is fixed by qualifying and the sprint race is run as a reverse grid (points awarded down to fifth place - half points, effectively - but race win not counted, maybe?)
Tyre and fuel allocations (as currently exist) to work over total race distance? With Parc Ferme conditions between races. This could make for some ‘interesting’ strategic choices...
Also, why not make the first session of the weekend qualifying...

[Wouter]

The 550 hp strong Aston Martin DBX Medical Car contains everything you need to provide assistance as quickly as necessary. On board the SUV you have, among other things, a defibrillator, two fire extinguishers and a medical kit to help in case of (serious) burns.



Here also the Mercedes Medical Car.

[Vasconia]

Didn't know where to post this, but here we go
https://twitter.com/LukeSmithF1/status/ ... 6956996611

Good news, Portimao was one of the best races of the season and I track I did like.

[Morteza]

The 550 hp strong Aston Martin DBX Medical Car contains everything you need to provide assistance as quickly as necessary. On board the SUV you have, among other things, a defibrillator, two fire extinguishers and a medical kit to help in case of (serious) burns.

https://www.autoblog.nl/files/2021/03/a ... -00005.jpg

Here also the Mercedes Medical Car.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ev8KKD3WEAA ... name=large

Thank you Wouter

Those AMGs look fantastic in red. Basically got a new life from this color
On the other hand I never liked Aston's new designs, but hey that's just me