Formula 1: teams will receive 'extra pay' for sprint races

The change of regulation that is called to end the dominance of Mercedes was postponed to 2022 because of the pandemic. In addition, limitations were introduced to the development of cars for this season to prevent costs from skyrocketing in a year marked by the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus. Despite this, in a 2021 in which few things are called to change, Formula 1 has decided to test sprint racing. This supposes an extra expense for the teams that will have to be compensated financially, since the teams had a budget limit of 120 million for this season. For this reason, Formula 1 will give extra money to the teams to cover the expenses of the sprint races that will take place in Great Britain, Italy and Brazil, with each team receiving just over 60,000 euros for each of the three races to the sprint that are held in this 2021. In addition, they will be able to spend around 165,000 euros more in each round if they deem it appropriate according to Race Fan. Among the expenses to be covered are the repair of the damages that the cars could suffer. For this, Formula 1 will have a fund of half a million euros ready for this purpose.The format of sprint races has yet to be approved It should be noted that the celebration of sprint races is approved but its format has not yet, something that will study in the next few days. The idea is to eliminate the free practice session on Fridays and replace it with a qualifying session. Based on it, the grid for the sprint race would be formed, which would take place on Saturday. This test would be limited to 100 kilometers and would mark the starting position for Sunday’s Grand Prix.For their part, the first three on Saturday would receive 3, 2 and 1 point respectively.The idea is that the sprint races drag the strategies from that day to Sunday with the use of the tires as a more important factor, since the teams the middle zone could play more cards to surprise the big boys. If it has the expected acceptance, this idea could be carried over to the 2022 season.Carlos Sainz and sprint races Asked about this, the Spanish rider recently pointed out: “Personally, I don’t think we know how they are going to work until we test them. I think it is very important that the main race does not lose value. ”“ It is dangerous that there can be two winners in the same race weekend. We must ensure that there is only one winner in the Grand Prix in which we do a double race ”, he continued. “But if there is a year in which we have to try these things, it is 2021. With the future ahead, I think it is a good opportunity to see how it turns out,” concluded Carlos Sainz. The objective of sprint racesStefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula 1, has also spoken about it: “The idea that we have shared, and that I think has received great comments from everyone in the sport, is that we will try to find something that will give us a classification on Friday and a sprint race on Saturday that will determine the starting order for Sunday’s race. ”“ Our goal is to try to offer the people who come to the event, the people who are watching television, the people who are really fans of Formula 1, something exciting. That will give us the excitement of a great weekend that will be beneficial for all parties involved ”, added the Italian.The drop in Formula 1 revenue due to the coronavirus The drop in revenue for Liberty Media has been 44 percent compared to the previous season, something that has also affected the distribution of these between the different teams. “Race promotion revenue decreased as fans were banned from attending all but three races, leading to unique changes to the contract terms of originally scheduled races that remained on the 2020 calendar and limited revenue generated by the replacement races that were added ”, explained the company that owns Formula 1. For all this, for the teams to have agreed to try sprint races in 2021, Formula 1 has had to financially compensate the teams and guarantee that It will cover any extra expenses that they may incur.