Formula 1 has had their current qualifying system – a 3-round time trial that eliminates the bottom 5 drivers of each round – in place since 2010. But now, they’re looking to change things up, with an all-new sprint qualifying format set to take place at 3 race weekends over the 2021 season.
The new system will see a 100-km (62-mile) race on Saturday afternoon to decide the starting order for Sunday’s grid. There will be no requirements for pit stops, and DRS will be in operation. Plus, in addition to determining the starting order for the full race, the top 3 finishers of this sprint race will receive championship points—3 for first, 2 for second, and 1 for third.
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Some formatting changes to the race weekend have been made to accommodate the new format. On Friday, there will be a one-hour practice session like normal, but instead of a second practice session, there will now be a qualifying session for the sprint race using the same elimination system we see now. Saturday morning sees another one-hour practice session, followed by the sprint race in the afternoon. Finally, on Sunday we have business as usual, with the full-length feature race taking place in the afternoon.
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And in addition to the weekend’s format, there have also been some minor alterations to the rules. The Parc Ferme window has been extended to now take place from the start of Friday’s qualifying until the end of Sunday’s race, although this will not apply to things like suspension and braking components. There have also been changes made to the tire allocations. During Friday’s qualifying, only soft tires can be used, during the sprint race, teams can use any tire compound they like, and for Sunday’s race, two different compounds must still be used.
We’re excited to see what becomes of this new format, but we’re also wary of it turning into another opportunity for some teams to dominate the weekends even more than they already have been.