F1 sprint timetable opens the door to setup “mess,” says Ferrari

This weekend’s GP at Silverstone will be the first in F1 history to feature a 100km sprint race on Saturday to determine the grid for the main event on Sunday.

But the arrival of the sprint race had a profound impact on the whole weekend schedule as teams now have much less practice time to improve their race set-up.

Now there is only one training session before a regular qualifying on Friday evening to determine the starting grid for the sprint race.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto believes that with the added complication of a new rear tire design, there is potential for many technical problems.

Mattia Binotto, Ferrari team principal

Photo by: Alessio Morgese

“We have a new tire specification at Silverstone that we tested in Austria, but most teams still need some experience with it,” he explained.

“There will be very little time for that because it’s only Friday morning [practice session] before qualifying starts – with the new equipment it really goes straight to qualifying.

“This is a new format, there is little experience because it is parc ferme from Friday afternoon, and that is really exciting. It could be exciting.

“I think it can be a mess because the set-ups are not optimized due to a lack of experience with the tires, so I think it can be a great race weekend in that regard.”

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It was clear to F1 that one of the main reasons for the sprint race idea was to make the whole weekend more exciting for the fans and not just spice up the Saturday afternoon.

Ross Brawn, Formula 1 Motorsport Director, said: “It’s not just about the sprint. We now have qualifying on a Friday afternoon. And so we have a premier event on Friday, another primary event on a Saturday, and then the main event on Sunday.

“It’s about creating more engagement for the whole weekend and having an event on a Saturday that is new and different.

“None of us knows 100 percent how it will be accepted and received or how it will develop.”