“There is a demand for more races,” Guenther Steiner claims half the F1 calendar could become sprint races
Guenther Steiner says the sprint qualifying is a good addition to the weekend.
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Guenther Steiner. Image via Evening Standard.
The new sprint race format has rattled the F1 grid. It’s been a hot topic lately. However, Haas team boss Guenther Steiner seems cool about it. He likes the new format. Steiner believes half the Formula 1 calendar could become sprint races if things go well in the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. F1 is due to vote next week on changing the format from Baku.
According to the new format, there will be Practice and Qualifying on Friday, Sprint Qualifying and Sprint race on Saturday and the feature race on Sunday. The events on Saturday will replace the two practice sessions that are usually held. MotoGP are a step ahead of F1, they already turned the whole calendar into a new sprint race format. This might motivate F1 to do the same in the coming years.
Guenther Steiner spoke to Reuters about the new format, “I don’t know if we will do it every race weekend. Maybe do a few more or maybe do half of the calendar. But the F1 promoter will know what to do. At the moment there is more demand for races (than slots available) so how can you get more races in, more competition, and more racing if we cannot do more than 24 events? So just make the event double count.”
Guenther Steiner supports the new sprint weekend format
The 2023 season has 23 races, the Chinese Grand Prix was cancelled again due to the pandemic. It’s been four years now. But it will return next season. It would be a good addition as the fans want more races. Guenther Steiner stated, “You have to see how it works with the fans, if they like it, how the numbers come back and then decide what to do as the next step. But at the moment, I support very much the sprint qualifying.”
The 58-year-old believes the third free practice session (FP3) has become worthless. He does not think anyone watches it. Steiner revealed that the teams don’t make changes to the car on Saturday. They only experiment with the tyre for the race. The Italian agrees with the F1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali who is “a supporter of the cancellation of free practice sessions”.
F1 drivers like George Russell and Lando Norris agreed with Domenicali about the practice sessions. They feel they have too many and it is not necessary. Max Verstappen on the other hand is not a fan of these changes, he thinks it is not in the “DNA” of the sport. While everyone has their opinions, the teams unanimously agreed to hold the first sprint weekend in Baku. Only time will tell whether the new format is here to stay or not.
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Sugantha Meena
(493 Articles Published)