This Tuesday, almost in all probability, the Commission of the Formula 1 will approve the new format of the weekends with Grand Prix with sprint races, and the urban circuit of baku will be in charge of removing the tie.
With the aim of increasing the excitement, the organization has prepared a draft with several changes that will trigger the tension from Friday itself.
Throughout the weekend there will only be one day of free practice for two qualifying sessions, in addition to the sprint test and the race itself.
Friday
Without too many shocks, the first free practice in the morning (11:30 a.m.) and the qualifying session in the afternoon (3:00 p.m.).
This ‘qualy’ will define the grid order for Sunday’s Grand Prixin addition to the ‘poleman’.
Saturday
Without a second free practice sessionthere will be a new classification that will define the starting grid for the sprint race (11:30 a.m.).
It will have Q1, Q2 and Q3 as in the traditional classification, but the format with lap times will be reduced. 12, 10 and 8 minutesrespectively.
The sprint test will be at 3:30 p.m. and will have a route of 100km of travel (15 laps).
The points They will be distributed proportionally, with eight units for the first and one for the eighth.
Sunday
The race, as planned, will start at 1:00 p.m. with the starting order established in Friday’s qualifying.
The one in Azerbaijan will be the first of six weekends with sprint races. After Baku, they will arrive Austria, Belgium, Qatar, the United States and Brazil.
Terror in Aston Martin, Red Bull and Mercedes
McCulloughchief performance officer Aston MartinHe presented his arguments for doubt the new format: “From the point of view of the cost limit, that worries me”.
Toto Wolff, head of Mercedes, took a similar line: “In qualifying you have fewer opportunities to send the car to the wall, but with two races there is obviously more risk, something we already knew. And two in a row with Miami, That can be a problem.”
However, the harshest criticism came from Christian Horner, his counterpart at Red Bull: “The reality is that it is absolutely ridiculous do the first sprint race of the year in an urban race like Azerbaijan”.
