Brawn: Sprint qualifying won't devalue main F1 race
Ross Brawn is confident Formula 1's planned "sprint qualifying" at select events in 2021 will still preserve the grand prix on Sunday and not devalue the main race.
F1 is planning to hold sprint races for the first time at three grands prix in 2021, running a 100km race on a Saturday to set the grid for the Sunday grand prix.
F1 managing director of motorsports Brawn used the term "sprint qualifying" to describe the races during an interview on the world feed during Saturday's Bahrain pre-season test running.
The current plan is to hold sprint races at Silverstone, Monza and Interlagos, with the regular qualifying session taking place on a Friday to form the grid for sprint qualifying.
Teams will meet with Brawn and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali tonight in Bahrain to discuss the plans further, with a vote on the final proposal set to take place at a later date before the season opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Drivers have raised concerns about the plans, with Aston Martin's Sebastian Vettel saying it "makes no sense", but Brawn explained that it would not detract from the Sunday event.
"We want to fill out a weekend," Brawn said.
"I think the critical thing is to preserve the grand prix. We want the winner of a grand prix to come away from those weekends still being the strongest and most successful competitor of that weekend.
"But we want to fill out the weekend, and we want to give the fans something more substantial to look at and follow on a Friday, something interesting on a Saturday.
"So as well as a sprint qualifying, we're going to have a normal qualifying on a Friday, where you qualify for your normal position in sprint qualifying, and then in sprint qualifying you'll take it forward to the race.
"So really we'll have a much fuller weekend, and that's what we want to explore. We want this opportunity to try it at three races this year, and if it doesn't work, then we'll put our hands up and go away and think about it again.
"But I'm quite optimistic about it. I think if you take the view of the whole weekend, then it's got a lot going for it."
F1 teams gave their initial support to the plans during an F1 Commission meeting at the end of January, but there were a number of details that still had to be finalised.
A working group was formed to go over matters such as the impact on the regulations and driver contracts, leaving a "good proposal" on the table for teams before coming to Bahrain, according to McLaren's Andreas Seidl.
Share Or Save This Story
1998 Belgian GP: When the Schumachers went to war
The race that transformed perceptions of Red Bull
Hamilton in the process of selecting Brad Pitt’s co-star for F1 movie
Jamie Chadwick reveals sponsorship push to help Abbi Pulling reach Indy NXT
Toyota introduces reliability updates to WEC hypercar following Austin heartbreak
LIVE: F1 Azerbaijan GP updates - Antonelli out of qualifying after Q1 crash
Oliver Solberg reveals his approach for the three-way WRC title showdown
How the chase to catch Mercedes is unfolding
What we learned from Thursday practice at the 2026 F1 Azerbaijan GP
A look at McLaren and Audi's Baku F1 updates
Fernando Alonso’s idea to ‘save’ F1 before the V8 return – and how realistic it is
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments