© Getty ImagesSprint!The Sprint weekend format brings something different to F1 – but how different is it?
For2023,F1isdoublingthenumberofSprintweekends.TheformathasbeentestedwithatSilverstone,MonzaandInterlagosin2021,andImola,theRedBullRingandInterlagosagainin2022.Ithastheadvantagetospectatorsofschedulingameaningfulsessiononeachdayoftheweekend,andalsoingivingteamssomedifferentthingstothinkabout.It’sstillarelativelynewformat,butbasedontheSprintweekendswe’veseensofar,trendsaredefinitelystartingtoemerge.
The First Ever F1 Sprint At Silverstone In 2021© Getty Images
Perhaps the most radical part of the Sprint format is the way in which is shakes-up the weekend schedule. Minor tweaks aside, F1 has been running with the same basic weekend format since 2006. We have two free practice sessions (FP1 & FP2) on Friday, another (FP3) on Saturday morning followed by a qualifying session on Saturday afternoon.
The Sprint format is very different. FP1 takes place on Friday morning, followed by Qualifying on Friday afternoon. FP2 moves to Saturday, followed by the Sprint. .
The issue is parc fermé – the part of the weekend during which teams are not allowed to alter their cars. The rules on this haven’t changed: as soon as the car leaves the garage at the start of Qualifying, it is placed in a notional parc fermé. Specification and mechanical set-up are fixed; we’re not allowed to change anything: you run what you brung.
In effect, this means the teams only have the hour of FP1 to do all of their set-up work, then make a final decision on aerodynamics, stiffnesses, ride-heights, cooling and certain engine parameters. Usually, there are three hours, spread across three sessions to test these things, and 24 hours off-track to study the data before committing. Sprint weekends don’t allow that luxury: instead we have an hour. It’s all a little more rough and ready.
The First Sprint Of The 2022 Season In Imola© Getty Images
TheTyres,TheTyres,TheTyres…
Sprint weekends have a different tyre allocation and a different way to use them.
On a normal weekend, each driver has 13 sets of slick tyres available: two Hard compound sets; three Medium; eight Soft (2-3-8). Two sets are discarded after each practice session, one set each of Hard and Medium tyres must be carried forward into Qualifying; and one set of Softs isn’t available until the start of Q3. Sprint weekends operate on a different principle. There’s 12 sets per car in a 2-4-6 allocation. Only one set has to be handed back after FP1 and only the Soft compound can be used in Qualifying, with two of those sets forfeited after the session. One more set is forfeited after FP2 – the highest mileage set – and another is forfeit after the Sprint. This ensures each driver goes into the grand prix with the usual allocation of seven sets – but before that, there’s some tricky decisions to make.
The first is which tyres to run in FP1. Across the standard three practice sessions, teams will want to sample all three compounds. That’s difficult to do well with only an hour, so choices have to be made. Across the first five sprint events, there’s been a genuine split in philosophies: some teams practice a quali sim, burning one of their Soft sets; others concentrate on the harder compounds a run. It gives them a better read on race pace, and more guidance on set-up but they go into Qualifying blind – albeit with one more Soft set at their disposal.
Austria Held The Second Sprint Of 2022© Getty Images
FP2 on Saturday morning is a little different to usual. The car is already in parc fermé, the set-up and configuration can’t be altered. While, under the watchful gaze of the scrutineers, the team can do like-for-like swaps of damaged or worn components, the only mechanical item that can be adjusted is the front wing flap. So, why do we have a practice session when it’s too late to change the car?
There’s actually quite a lot that can be done. The first thing is that the electronic setup of the car isn’t fixed, and the team are free to adjust the differential and play around with brake settings to fine-tune cornering performance – but more than that, the team can use the session to learn about their race tyres. In the modern era, teams rarely get an opportunity to do a genuine long run with a heavy load of fuel in the car. FP2 on a Sprint weekend almost encourages it.
Put all of that practice together and the team goes into the Sprint and Sunday’s main race with a different level of knowledge to a normal weekend. The set-up of the car might be a little more basic that would usually be the case, but to balance that, knowledge of how the tyres will behave is a little better.
The first big question that’s asked is which set of tyres to use in the Sprint? With only 100km to cover, the Hard tyre – more durable and better for longer distances – hasn’t seen use. It’s a choice of Medium and Soft. There’s nothing to prevent a car making a pit-stop during the Sprint but on a dry day, there isn’t time enough time or distance for that to be worthwhile. The Sprint is strictly a one-shot deal.
Each tyre has pros and cons. The Soft will give better performance off the line and in the early laps – because it is easier to warm-up and generates more grip immediately. Its performance will begin to fade before the chequered flag, however. The Medium won’t be quite so impressive in the early exchanges, but will be the stronger tyre at the end of the Sprint. The type of track has a lot to do with the choice. At Imola, for example, where overtaking is more difficult, the majority of the field went with the Soft compound – because a good start was vital, and even with a stronger tyre at the end of the race, the Medium-shod cars would struggle to overtake. Conversely, at the Red Bull Ring, the opposite was true: Overtaking is easier and thus the majority went with the Medium, to ensure they stayed competitive on pace all the way to the flag.
Sprinting In Imola© Getty Images
The architects of the Sprint were keen on a flat-out, 30-minute blast… but F1 teams tend to be a little more conservative in their decision-making. In 2021, when the Sprints were first trialled, teams were largely risk-averse. There were some points available (the top three scored 3-2-1 respectively) but not enough to tempt drivers into a late-braking lunge for position. This year, there’s points all the way down to P8. Overtaking is thus a little more rewarding – but it’s rare to see a driver go all-in in the hope of gaining an extra point and a position on the grid. That small gain isn’t usually considered worth the risk of getting it wrong and starting the grand prix at the back of the field. It therefore tends to be quite a cagey 100km.
Max Won The Inaugural Sprint At The 2021 British Grand Prix© Getty Images
What impact have the Sprints had on the grands prix that follow? It’s tempting to look at the Sprint and Grand Prix as one 400km race – albeit one with an enforced stop at one-quarter distance for fuel and tyres. It isn’t entirely this straightforward, though the extra distance does tend to mean any shocks in the traditional qualifying session are more likely to be smoothed-over, because a front-running driver starting out of position has a longer distance in which to regain ground. On the other hand, it isn’t an invitation to take cheap PU penalties, because those are applied to the grid on Sunday, not the Sprint grid on Saturday.
It also moves the needle a little in favour of teams with stronger race pace. There will always be cars that excel over the single-lap in Qualifying, and cars that are much better over a race distance – but quite where that line lies is a difficult thing to judge: the Sprints are still sufficiently new that no-one really knows for sure.
Max Won The Sprint At Our Home Race In 2022© Getty Images
