F1 Azerbaijan GP – WATCH: “Massive joke of a quali, Cancel this format already” Fans blame new F1 Sprint Format for Pierre Gasly’s Q1 crash
Pierre Gasly was forced to retire after damaging his car at Turn 3 during Q1 at the Azerbaijan GP.
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Pierre Gasly, 2023 Azerbaijan GP
The Azerbaijan GP is known for its action-packed sessions. The new F1 Sprint format was expected to provide further entertainment to the viewers. However, this has caused a major headache to Alpine as Pierre Gasly crashed out during Qualifying. The Frenchman already had a rough start to the weekend after he was forced to retire from Free Practice with a blown engine.
The Q1 session had already witnessed Nyck de Vries‘s crash in sector one which brought in a red flag. Shortly after the session started, Pierre joined the Williams driver in colliding with the barriers at Turn 3. This ended the Qualifying session for the 26-year-old, who will be forced to start from the back of the grid on Sunday. This further makes things difficult for the Alpine mechanics, who work tirelessly to get the car running for Saturday.
Pierre Gasly would not be pleased with a nightmare start to the race weekend. The Alpine driver was hoping to finally get a decent result this season on the streets of Baku. But after making contact with the barriers, things look grim for the French driver. However, Pierre would look to progress tomorrow and perhaps score some points during the Sprint.
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Fans unhappy with the F1 Sprint format at the Azerbaijan GP
After this crash, fans took to Twitter to express their frustration over the new Sprint format. One fan argued that Pierre Gasly’s crash was inevitable as the Azerbaijan GP weekend witnessed only a single practice session. The fan wrote, “Bound to happen when you take away some practice sessions.”
Another user mentioned their anger over F1’s decision to change the standard format that prioritizes entertainment over actual racing. Pierre Gasly’s crash was the latest example. The user replied, “That’s what you get if you give drivers just 1 FP for entertainment purposes… massive joke of a quali… its not even fun to watch anymore.”
Another fan was quick to state how this is a massive embarrassment for the sport despite F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali insisting on such a weekend. The fan commented, “This is backfiring quite badly for F1 and their desperate chase of spectacularity.” One user urged the sport to revert back to its normal format after Pierre Gasly’s crash. The user said, “Cancel this format already.”
Thus, fans are not happy with the new Sprint format being tested at the Azerbaijan GP. Pierre Gasly’s crash is being reckoned as something that could’ve been avoided if the drivers got sufficient running on the track. The Baku City Circuit is known for its challenging characteristics such as the tight corners and the long straights. Subsequently, F1 might need to rethink its idea for this race.
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Armaan Agarwal
(2310 Articles Published)