Formula 1 British GP
F1 sprint timetable opens door for set-up "mess" - Ferrari
Formula 1's revamped weekend schedule for the first sprint event opens the door for teams to face a set-up "mess" at the British Grand Prix, reckons Ferrari.
Jonathan Noble Jonathan Noble
Edited: Jul 15, 2021, 2:33 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
This weekend's GP at Silverstone will be the first in F1 history that features a 100km sprint race on the Saturday to decide the grid for Sunday's main event.
But the arrival of the sprint race has had wider implications for the entire weekend timetable, with much less practice time for teams to hone their race set-ups. There will now just be a single practice session before a regular qualifying session on Friday evening to decide the grid for the sprint race.
Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto thinks that, with the additional complication of a new rear tyre construction being introduced, there is potential for a lot of engineering headaches.
"We have got a new tyre specification at Silverstone, which we tested in Austria, but most of the teams need to have some more experience on it," he explained. "There will be very little time for it because it's only the Friday morning [practice session] before going into qualifying – so you are really going straight into qualifying with the new spec.
"It's a new format, there is very little experience because it is parc ferme from Friday afternoon onwards, and that's really exciting. It could be exciting.
"I think there may be some mess because set-ups will not be optimised thanks to a lack of experiences on the tyres, so I think it can be a great race weekend in that respect."
Read Also:
- Brawn confident F1 drivers "will go for it" in Sprint events
- F1's sprint qualifying: How does it work and when is it happening?
- Masi ready to amend F1 sprint race rules if necessary
F1 has been clear that one of the key reasons for the sprint race idea was to make the whole weekend more exciting for fans, rather than it just being about spicing up Saturday afternoon.
Ross Brawn, who is F1's managing director of motorsport, said: "It's not just about the sprint. We have qualifying now on a Friday afternoon. And so we have a premier event on Friday, we have another primary event on a Saturday and then we have the main event on Sunday.
"It's all about creating more engagement for the whole weekend, and having an event on a Saturday, which is new, and it's different.
"None of us know 100% how it will be accepted and how it will be received, or how it will develop."
We want your opinion!
What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?
Take our 5 minute survey.
- The Motorsport.com Team
Read and post comments
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Brawn: F1 won't "sell out" over sprint race future
Next article F1 drivers need to sort gentleman's agreement themselves - Masi
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Jonathan Noble
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
Formula 1
Formula 1 Dec 31, 2024
Brundle awarded OBE in King’s New Year’s honours
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Formula 1
Formula 1 Dec 31, 2024
The new rules dilemma that will define the 2025 F1 season
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
Formula 1
Formula 1
Australian GP
Dec 28, 2024
Verstappen issues Red Bull title warning in push for RB21 progress
More from
Ferrari
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 d
Max Verstappen on Ferrari clashes: "I would never sign two number-one drivers"
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
2 d
What the Brazilian GP revealed about F1's ability to cope with rain
Latest news
Why aerodynamics will become "even more important" under 2027 MotoGP regulations
MotoGP
MGP MotoGP
Qatar GP
26 min
Why aerodynamics will become "even more important" under 2027 MotoGP regulations
Sebastien Bourdais hopes latest WEC success will remind teams of his value
WEC
WEC WEC
Monza
2 h
Sebastien Bourdais hopes latest WEC success will remind teams of his value
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
3 h
"It's horribly painful" - Williams drops 2026 car upgrades to benefit 2027
Feature
Discover prime content
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1970s
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.
You have 2 options:
- Become a subscriber.
- Disable your adblocker.
Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here
Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page
Manage Alerts
Subscribe