Imola GP: Find out the new rules and point scoring system for sprint races in 2022
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Imola GP 2021 podium
F1 returns this weekend to race in Italy. The Emilia Romagna GP or the Imola GP is one of the three races this season where the format of the sprint race will be followed. The other two venues for the sprint weekend in 2022 are the Austrian GP and the Sau Paulo GP.
The sprint race, this year too, will be a 100km race, otherwise much like the main race of the weekend. But, unlike the main race, it doesn’t require a mandatory pitstop. This makes the race exciting and tests the drivers’ ability to manage their best set of tires.
Weekend in Imola will have only one practice session before the qualifying session on Friday, not allowing the teams to tune their cars as patiently as they’d have wanted to. This qualifying session will determine the grid for the sprint on Saturday.
What are the changes to the sprint format that we’ll see in the Imola GP?
After considering feedback from last year’s sprints, F1 has introduced changes to the point system and pole position accreditation. The changes are expected to spice up the weekend as well as the championships.
Firstly, the sprint race will award more points this year. Unlike last year, when the winner was awarded 3, the runner-up was given 2 and the second runner-up finished with a point, this year, the winner will be credited 8 championship points, the runner-up with 7 points, extending up to the driver finishing P8 winning 1 point. So, for a driver 34 points are up for grabs, counting the 8 from sprint, 25 from the main race, and 1 for the fastest lap.
The second change for the weekend is the winner of the pole position. The grid for the sprint will be determined by Friday’s qualifying, and the grid for Sunday by Saturday’s sprint. But, the driver finishing on top of the Q3 on Friday will be credited with the pole position on Sunday, regardless of their performance in the sprint and starting position on Sunday.
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Manan Goel
(400 Articles Published)