With a new race weekend, Formula One is back.
The first of six F1 races this season to include a sprint race is the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. As part of regulation modifications to dissuade teams and drivers from playing it safe, there is now a second qualifying session, while practise time has been reduced to one session.
Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes remarked, “Especially with the shake-up of the entire format of the weekend, it’s probably the most exciting weekend so far this year and I’m looking forward to seeing how it turns out.”
“I believe that everyone will find it difficult, but we are all in the same boat. What a track to be able to do it on that allows overtaking. Excellent racing here.
Due to the cancellation of the Chinese Grand Prix, F1 has been on a vacation since the previous race in Australia on April 2. Several teams have brought updated vehicles to Azerbaijan. It will be interesting to see whether any of them can really contend with Red Bull’s early leadership.
Red Bull driver Sergio Perez stated, “When you’re in a strong position, you just want to keep going, and don’t let others close up the gap.” We’re bringing some enhancements here, and we’re hoping we can stay competitive.
As he attempts to recover from a qualifying disaster that destroyed his weekend in Australia, Mexican driver Sergio Perez sits 15 points behind teammate Max Verstappen in the standings. Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin, who is 24 points behind the leader, is the highest-placed non-Red Bull driver.
SPRINT NEWS RULES
The “sprint shootout” will be a separate, shorter qualifying session for sprints on Saturday before the 17-lap sprint race, which will no longer determine grid places for the main Azerbaijan Grand Prix the following day. This decision was made by F1 on Tuesday. Traditional qualifying for the main race will still take place, but it will now take place on Friday after the only practise.
The intention is to motivate teams and drivers to take greater chances, but teams are concerned about suffering a financial loss. Due to stringent spending limits, greater racing near the barriers on a street circuit is likely to result in more accidents and repair costs, leaving less resources available to enhance the cars throughout the year.
None of us want to inflict any damage to our vehicles since doing so might make getting future improvements extremely difficult, according to Perez. It’s not like everyone will be taking foolish risks for a few points, she said.
Even before the new regulations were revealed, Red Bull team director Christian Horner allegedly referred to the Baku street track as a “ludicrous” site for a sprint race. Perez said that sprints could be utilised to spice up boring courses and questioned the decision to hold the event in Baku on Thursday.
When it comes to the races where we need to make improvements, Perez said that we should likely be more selective.
After the novelty of the shorter races wore off in 2021, numerous drivers and teams seemed risk-averse in the competitions.
The initial concept of the format as “sprint qualifying,” a practise run to establish the grid for Sunday’s main event, contributed to some of the issues. As a result, the sprint and main race were really really two separate, very lengthy races. A driver’s chances in Sunday’s race, when drivers are vying for relatively few points, might be destroyed by a single error.
HARD TRAVEL
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is the first of five races that will take place over the course of the next six weeks, with teams travelling from Baku to Miami and then on to Imola in Italy.
This is the type of extensive travel that has led to criticism of Formula One’s environmental performance and worries from teams over the strain on their workers. Other cross-continental journeys planned for this year include those from Japan to Qatar to Austin, Texas, in September and October, and from Spain to Canada to Austria in June.
F1 said it was working with promoters “towards a more regional approach, over time” in its annual report on sustainability, which was released in December, to reduce travel distances. When something will appear in the timetable is unclear.