(Abu Dhabi) From next season, Formula One sprint races are set to take place before qualifying for the main race of a Grand Prix, after a proposed change to the format was approved on Friday.
The decision to change the weekend’s schedule was taken following discussions with the F1 commission at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The commission includes the FIA governing body, the teams and the F1 commercial rights holder.
“The commission provided overall support for an update of the sprint race format for 2024,” the FIA said in a press release. A final proposal will be presented to the F1 Commission for the first meeting in 2024.”
Weekends that included a sprint race have already seen qualifying for the main Grand Prix race take place on Friday instead of the usual Saturday. A qualifying session – known as a shootout – for the sprint race, followed by the race itself, has already taken place on Saturday.
This format has proven unpopular with some teams because it leaves too much of a gap between Friday’s qualifying and Sunday’s main race.
According to the new format, the qualifying session for the sprint race would instead take place on Friday while the sprint race would follow on Saturday. Main qualifying would take place later today.
The changes must still be approved in the new year by the FIA World Motor Sport Council.
“Sprint racing needs to evolve a bit,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. I understand the concept and action of the three days, but they were slightly disappointing at times. »
The F1 commission also approved the installation of an additional cooling duct on the single-seaters.
The change comes after several drivers struggled to cope with the intense heat of the Qatar Grand Prix in October.
American driver Logan Sargeant retired following severe dehydration, after almost losing control of his Williams on track. Alpine’s Esteban Ocon vomited into his helmet while riding as track temperatures reached 50 degrees Celsius.
