Hamilton’s Sprint Race Fee Ends F1 Reverse Grids Debate

The F1 bosses will start talks with the teams over the winter to agree on a format for the six sprint events planned for 2022.

One of the most important considerations is to make the 100 km sprint on Saturday more exciting, as the action of the day has not quite lived up to expectations.

F1 believes that offering more championship points for the sprint race could be a way to add an extra edge to the process.

However, some teams like Ferrari think F1 should be even bolder and make Saturday’s sprint an event in its own right – with the grid lines reversed.

While not all teams agree with such a move, Ferrari believes last weekend’s Brazilian GP result is proof that the concept can work.

Thanks to Hamilton’s exclusion from qualifying due to a violation of the DRS rules, the world champion had to start from the end of the grid for the sprint race on Saturday.

He fought his way up to fifth and drove from tenth to victory on Sunday thanks to a five-place penalty for a fresh engine.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto believes the spectacle of Hamilton’s rise, coupled with the fact that he went from back to front, shows that reverse grid lines are feasible.

When asked by Autosport whether the Interlagos evidence strengthens the case for reverse grids, Binotto said, “I think, frankly, because of so many overtaking maneuvers and so much fun.

“I think we should really consider it, and of course that goes for the sprint race format. After seeing what happens, I think it’s not even debatable. “

Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes W12, Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes W12, Charles Leclerc, Ferrari SF21, Carlos Sainz Jr., Ferrari SF21 and the rest of the field after the safety car

Photo by: Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images

While Ferrari advocates the reverse grid concept, McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo believes it could devalue the importance of a race win on an F1 weekend.

“Don’t get me wrong, Lewis starting from behind made the race even more exciting for the spectators. I’m pretty sure of that, ”he said.

“So I think they do [sprint] The race benefited from Lewis having at least an inverted starting position.

“It couldn’t be more exciting, but I still believe that a win should be a win.

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“I know it’s just a sprint race so it’s of less value, but I still think that if you cross the finish line first, you should still be the best driver, at least in this race itself.

“So if you only made it because you qualified last but started from pole, I’m not sure. I don’t know how much satisfaction you can get from this. So it’s probably more of a personal feeling of satisfaction that might still turn me away from this inverted grid idea. “