One of Formula 1’s goals with sprint racing was to create a session taking place over the race weekend where the drivers could battle each other without having to save fuel or tyres, so above all the role, would lead to a very entertaining career and with many fights and movements on the track.
However, except in some very specific cases, this has not really been achieved and, after the excitement of the first laps, most sprint races have become a kind of “procession” in which the drivers cannot attack the car in front of them.
After a new preview at the 2022 Formula 1 Austrian Grand Prix, Norris said that while the shorter races had been positive for McLaren so far, the nature of this sort of ’round robin’ on most occasions it has not created better or more spectacular races, rather the opposite.
According to Lando Norris, the main problem is that when everyone goes full throttle for about 20 laps on average, without having to change tires or save anything and considering that the difference between some cars is one tenth per lap or even less, overtaking on the track it becomes practically impossible.
“In general, they have been good for us, because I think we have always been able to move forward. But I wouldn’t say they are the most exciting races. There is hardly any tire wear and there is no difference between the different teams on the grid.
“When everyone is in the same conditions on the track, it is more difficult to attack or overtake the cars in front of you. Especially when you are only a tenth of a second apart on the qualifying lap. You will never be able to do anything in these conditions “.
“Only those who are out of position can overtake because they have had an accident during qualifying or something similar. Sometimes I think the race will be exciting, and then it always turns out that it is not. However, this format brings some changes that I like them,” Norris concluded.
This season, Formula 1 will test the format with a sprint race once again and it will be on a track that repeats after its experience last year, a Brazilian Grand Prix that could dictate a sentence for better or worse in terms of the future of these tests for the future of the highest category of motorsport.
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