'Next weekend in Baku normally sprint race with new format'

F1 News

New sprint format for Azerbaijan GP
2 April 2023 at 05:44
  • GPblog.com

It is very likely that a new sprint format will be used in Baku for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. The rumours were already going around, but there have now been talks between the team bosses, and the plan seems to be going ahead.

That is what is reported by Dutch F1 journalist, Erik van Haren. According to him, the race weekend in Baku will likely be completed under the new sprint format script. Van Haren writes: "Plans are still to be worked out and no vote has been taken yet, but next race weekend in Baku should normally have a sprint race with the new format. "

Two qualifying sessions in Baku?

The new format being discussed is the addition of an extra qualifying session. This will make the sprint race more self-contained. On Friday, there will be a qualifying session before the race on Sunday. On Saturday, there will be a shorter qualifying session (though with Q1, Q2 and Q3) to determine how the sprint race will start.

So no voting has taken place yet, but that seems to be just a formality, with the team bosses all making the decision to adopt this format. Another option was to have a shoot-out qualifier for the sprint race. Red Bull Racing's Max Verstappen already indicated that he sees little point in changing the F1 weekend format.