F1 News: Sprint Qualifying Confirmed

Formula 1 have confirmed that sprint qualifying will appear at three of the racing weekends this season. But many fans are asking 'what even is sprint qualifying'?

Overview

The format, which comes from Formula 2, would see a 100km sprint qualifier on the Saturday of race weekend to determine the starting grid for the Sunday race. There will be points available for the top 3 drivers, with 3 points for P1, 2 points for P2 and 1 point for P3.

The sprint qualifying will change how the weekend looks compared to a typical race weekend. This is the format that has been determined:

FRIDAY: Practice 1 (60 minutes) and qualifying for the sprint qualifying (Q1, Q2 and Q3 format)

SATURDAY: Practice 2 (60 minutes) and sprint qualifying

SUNDAY: Grand Prix (run over the full distance as normal)

Where Has The Idea Come From

In Formula 2, the grid for the sprint races is determined by reversing the top 10 finishers from qualifying or previous sprint. Initially this idea was presented to the F1 teams but Mercedes blocked the idea of the reverse grid, with Toto Wolff referring to it as a 'gimick'.

As a result, the idea of reversing the grid was removed and with the adapted format being approved by the teams back in February. It has taken two months of talks between F1 and its governing body to iron out the details and to decide how the race weekend would look.

What Does It Mean For The Teams and the Tyres?

As a result of the extra cost to the team for running the cars through another race, the F1 have agreed to additional payments for each team. They will be given $450,000 (£324,000) to cover the three sprints, with an extra insurance scheme to pay out of any expensive car parts are damaged during the new qualifying format.

In regards to tyres, the teams will have 12 sets available to them. On the Friday, two sets are available for FP1 and 5 sets of soft available for qualifying. On the Saturday, one set is available for FP2, with 2 sets available for sprint qualifying. The two remaining sets will be available for the Sunday Grand Prix. If qualifying or FP1 is held in wet conditions, each team will be be given another set of intermediates, however a set of intermediates must be returned before the sprint. If sprint qualifying is in wet conditions, each team is allowed to swap a set of used intermediates or wets for new intermediate ones. In total, there are three sets of wet and four sets of intermediates available to each team at the start of the event.

After the sprint qualifying, the cars will be in full Parc Ferme conditions. This means that the car can not be touched by anyone without express permission from the FIA. This is to avoid teams developing cars just for qualifying, which then can then change and re-set up for the main Sunday race. The teams are able to do some reconfiguration before FP2 on Saturday. Allowances have also been made for brake friction material and for power units and gearbox cooling adjustments if there is significant temperature change. Teams can also use previously used front wings without penalty if theirs are damaged during the sprint. Furthermore, Article 10.3 of the Technical Regulations permits for changes or adjustments to the suspension elements and to alter camber, toe or ride height of the suspension components between qualifying and sprint qualifying.

Concerns

There are also some concerns over whether work to make the constructors championship closer may be undone by introducing points into sprint qualifying. As the race is only 100km, the Mercedes and Red Bull cars, which are known to be the fasted on the grid, are likely to dominant.

However, it has the potential to make race weekends even more exciting. By effectively adding another race (all though there has been every effort made by F1 and the FIA to refer to it as qualifying) there is the potential for so much more drama and entertainment. The drivers championship is also going to be a close one between Verstappen and Hamilton this year, so the points available at the sprint racings could be make or break.

Whilst it is yet to be confirmed exactly what tracks are to be used, it is widely understood that Silverstone and Monza will be used. If the format is to work successfully, F1 Managing Director Ross Brawn has said that it will it not become something that is used at every single racing weekend. It will be incredibly interesting to see how the new layout will work and whether it has the intended effect!