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F1 reveals rules for new ‘sprint shootout’ qualifying session
The new format will be used for the first time this weekend in Azerbaijan, the first of six sprint weekends on the 2023 schedule, followed by events in Austria, Belgium, Qatar, the United States and Sao Paulo.
The changes are aimed at creating a stand-alone Saturday event that does not affect qualifying for Sunday’s main race, to encourage drivers to work harder as mistakes are less expensive.
The revised weekend schedule also addresses the previous largely redundant Saturday FP2 session, which no longer exists.
The rules were finalized during the April break after lengthy discussions between team sporting directors and the FIA on the Sporting Advisory Committee.
They were voted unanimously at today’s F1 Commission meeting, ahead of formal adoption by the World Motor Sport Council.
As expected, Friday’s FP1 will be followed by qualifying for the main event, with qualifying for the main event set, unless any additional penalties have to be imposed.
Mechanics on the grid before starting
Photography: Glenn Dunbar/ motorsport pictures
Saturday’s sprint showdown will follow the same three-part format as traditional qualifying, with shortened session lengths now confirmed at 12 minutes for SQ1, 10 minutes for SQ2 and 8 minutes for SQ3.
The use of tires during the sprint weekend was the subject of much discussion, considering only 12 sets were available instead of 13, and the FP2 run time had been replaced by a penalty shootout.
It has been decided that the team will have to use three new sets of tires for use in the three shootouts, with both SQ1 and SQ2 having to use medium tyres, and SQ3 having to use soft tyres.
The distribution of driving penalties is another source of discussion given the attempt to keep sprint days separate from grand prix. It has been agreed that any tee generated in the sprint and not served in the sprint will be applied to Sunday’s race.
As before, gearbox and power unit penalties that occurred at the weekend will be carried over to the Grand Prix.
The points distribution for the sprint remains the same, with the top eight scoring 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.
At the Spanish Grand Prix, F1 entered a dedicated permanent track for the first time since the season opener in Bahrain. Due to the nature of the Circuit de Catalunya, teams usually implement a lot of upgrade packages on their cars, as it is well known that if a team performs well in Barcelona, they stand a good chance of doing well for most of the remainder of the calendar. repertoire.
For the first time since 2006, the championship will do away with the oft-maligned slow 14-15 left-right corner and will revert to two high-speed open right-hand corners to complete a lap.
This has increased the top speed of the final corner to 170mph and is intended to allow drivers to follow the main straight more closely into the slipstream and overtake.
While single-car racing got rave reviews from drivers for the changes to improve lap speed during Friday’s practice session, they don’t think the tweaks will help the pass as envisioned.
With the Pirelli tires’ lack of overtaking so far in 2023 due in part to overheating rather than degradation, AlphaTauri driver Nyck de Vries believes that will again be a major factor this weekend.
He said: “Let’s not jump to conclusions, but obviously the main reason for the change was for a better game.
“I’m not sure if it’s going to give us a better game…the left forward has suffered a lot.
Insight: What we learned from Friday’s practice for the F1 2023 Spanish GP
“It’s a tough job at the front. You can feel it now, on long distances, when you’re behind other cars it’s hard to keep up.
“Now there’s a lot of focus on the front axle, whereas before, there was a little bit of both…they did (change) for the right purpose, let’s put it that way.”
Valtteri Bottas, Alfa Romeo Racing
Photography: Alfa Romeo
De Vries reckons it’s possible to advance two laps before “you end up paying the price” because of so much tire wear.
Drivers also mentioned the 2023 car, fueling concerns that the revised Barcelona lap would not lead to an increase in overtaking.
While the switch to ground effect is intended to help the car follow more closely, winter developments increase levels of dirty air. Drivers commented that this season was significantly harder to keep up with than the previous one.
Alfa Romeo driver Valtteri Bottas told Autosport: “The faster the more fun. (But the level of overtaking) will be the same. The last corner is hard to follow.
“It’s just faster, but I don’t think it will improve overtaking. It’s a bit bumpy over there.
“So, there’s a little bit of movement, which makes it more challenging, but it’s a cool corner. It’s superfast. Definitely more challenging, but also for the tyres.
“It felt like the tires were traveling a lot in those two corners.”
Max Verstappen was the fastest driver on the track at all hours of Friday’s Spanish Grand Prix. The fact that the Red Bull driver also had time to listen to Helmut Marko’s call on the radio should cause concern for the race, according to Peter Windsor.
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