Since Formula 1 introduced sprint races into a Grand Prix weekend, there have been many who are opposed to and feel the format needs revision, especially if there are to me more added to the calendar in future.
In a similar vein, Formula 1 have tried to spice up Qualifying in order to increase the entertainment value for fans, and after the 2022 Azerbaijan GP, in which Alex Albon hit out at Fernando Alonso for going to slow, the Spaniard has offered a solution to the problem of cars clogging the track.
“Maybe a solution would be to go back to the old format where we all had a Super Pole (between 2003 and 2005, a solo lap), maybe it was good for TV and it was good for us as well,” Alonso said.
“Right now there is too much interaction with other cars, with overtaking, with traffic, with yellow flags and it’s not ideal.”
Changes to the sprint race
Fellow Spaniard Carlos Sainz also reflected on the sprint races and how they could be changed to offer more excitement to F1 fans.
“I think if we are going to have more sprint weekends, I think the sprint race has the potential to be a better spectacle, a separate race from the rest of the weekend,” Sainz told MARCA.
“I think that Friday’s qualifying should continue to count for Sunday, as it does now, it should count for Sunday’s race, but Saturday’s race should be separate, it should not count for Sunday, but it should count for the championship.
“And it should be an inverted grid of the 20 drivers as you are in the World Championship, with the top 10 scoring points but scoring less than the 25 points, it has to be worth less.
“Then we would see the two Red Bulls and the two Ferraris coming out in the last four or five with a huge desire to get into the top ten because if we don’t get there we don’t score, but if we crash trying to get back up the order, the next day you still get pole position, as this is the real race.
“Then we would see a really fun sprint race, more so than now, because you are trying to position yourself for Sunday’s race, so there is not much to see because it’s like a first stint of the race.
“The big points are on Sunday and why would you sacrifice or risk crashing to move up a place and lose third or second in the race that counts the most… it makes perfect sense.”
