This Saturday, November 20, the last of the three sprint races to be held this season will take place in Brazil. At stake will be 3, 2 and 1 points that could be decisive in the fight for the Formula 1 World Cup, where Max Verstappen leads Lewis Hamilton by 19 points.
What are sprint races and how do they work?
Sprint races are tests limited to 100 kilometers, lasting half an hour , which determine the starting grid on Sunday. These represent an extra incentive for the first three pilots since they will add 3, 2 and a point. The starting order of sprint races is decided in the qualifying session, which is carried over to Friday. Although the pilots will be able to use the tires they consider appropriate, in the sprint race they will only ride soft , once again having free choice for Sunday’s Grand Prix. This is something that does not quite convince Fernando Alonso, who said in his day: “With six sets of tires on Saturdays, in the end we will end up in the natural order of the performance of the cars.” Another aspect to consider when it comes to sprinting races is that there will be no mandatory pit stop .
The previous sprint races
Max Verstappen was the driver who made history by winning the first Formula 1 sprint race. The Red Bull driver finished at Silverstone ahead of the two Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton was second and Valtteri Bottas third. The latter achieved pole position in the second sprint race to date. It was at Monza where Verstappen was second and Daniel Ricciardo third. On that occasion Hamilton was fifth; In other words, in both sprint races, Max Verstappen was ahead of him. Interestingly, the Dutchman’s only two retirements this season have been after a sprint race.
As for the Spanish, Fernando Alonso has shone every time a sprint race has been held. In the first he started eleventh and finished fifth after a great start. He finally finished seventh after being overtaken by the two McLarens. In the last one, Alonso came out thirteenth and finished eleventh. On that occasion the pilots were much more conservative than in the first sprint race, which is why Ross Brawn wanted to praise the Asturian’s daring. ” If everyone ran the sprint as Fernando Alonso runs , in that spirit, I would be very happy, ” said the FIA sporting director.
Carlos Sainz , for his part, also shone with his own light in the first sprint race. He started ninth, suffered a mishap that relegated him to the last positions and still had time to come back to eleventh position. At Monza he came out seventh and he just held the position.
When will the last sprint race take place?
As for the Grand Prix of Grand Brazil , which will host the last sprint race in 2021, Free Practice 1 will be held on Friday from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. , while the qualifying session will take place that same day. from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. On Saturday it will be the turn of Free 2 , from 4:00 p.m. to 2:07 p.m. , and the sprint race , at 8:30 p.m. The race will take place on Sunday from 6:00 p.m. It should be noted that sprint races mean the disappearance of Free Practice 3 that weekend.
The success of sprint races
Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula 1, recently stated: “We said earlier in the year that there would be three tests this year to make sure we have the right plan for the future. The vast majority of the comments we received were super positive. The promoters are super happy because there is something new and important on Friday, Saturday and Sunday ”.
“We are receiving these positive comments, so we have to know that next year we have a great plan in which we will also take into account the points made by people who did not like this format . In general it has been an incredible success ”, assured the Italian.
Regarding the next season, which will have 23 races, Stefano Domenicali added: “I can say that we are not going to go everywhere with the sprint race format. It is something that we want to maintain for a third of the races , more or less, and connect with a certain different way of giving rewards and points and connecting with specific circuits that, as you know, would make a difference. So there is a lot to think about. We will involve all stakeholders: broadcasters, drivers, teams, promoters and fans. We will not forget that our role is to make the right decision and consider all the points of view of all ”.
As has emerged, the Spanish Grand Prix is one of those that wants to host a sprint race in 2022.
