F1 debuted its new weekend sprint race format at three events in 2021, hosting 100km races on Saturdays, earning points for the top three and setting the grid for Sunday’s race.
The attempt at the format last year has led to plans being formulated to expand it to six events next year following talks in Saudi Arabia last month. The season opener in Bahrain is set to host the first sprint of the year, possibly using his outside loop configuration.
Also discussed were changes to the number of scoring positions, the classification of ‘pole position’ and whether it determines the starting grid for Sunday’s race.
Although teams favored continuing and expanding the sprint format for this year, there was no consensus on replacing supplemental income for the accident allowance that was allowed last year with a fixed fee and how this would align with the budget cap .
F1 introduced a budget cap of $145 million last year, which will decrease to $140 million for this year before decreasing by another $5 million in 2023.
Brown, CEO of McLaren Racing, was encouraged that sprint races had had “a very positive impact on viewership” and that while format adjustments needed to be discussed, the team was strongly opposed to raising the expense cap.
“Some want to take the opportunity to raise the cost cap, a few teams,” Brown said. “We are firmly against raising the cost cap on anything. So we need to address this issue.”
Marshals clear Valtteri Bottas’ damaged Mercedes W12 car out of the gravel bed
Photo by: Charles Coates / Motorsport Images
In 2021, teams received an expense allowance of $450,000 for participating in the three sprint races and an additional $100,000 for accidental damage.
But Brown said that despite the limited number of first-round incidents, “a few teams” wanted to increase the 2022 budget cap “by a ridiculous number.”
“The reality is there was very little damage last year,” Brown said. “When this was proposed to us a year ago they did a report on the damage done in the early rounds and it was also in the report that showed there was very little damage.
“We came to think that there could be very little harm [and it] It turned out that there was very little damage.
“And yet a few teams want to take the opportunity to increase the budget by a ridiculous number, by almost ‘well, what if I write off a car every race?’ From what I’ve seen, I’ve seen more falls in training than in the sprint races.
“It might be new for some teams to have to manage a budget but I think it fits the spirit of the sport so you can balance income with expenses and solve that.
“But I think the revenue will increase over time and I think we have to be very careful, to be financially sustainable, that certain teams take the opportunity to try and increase that all the time. We have to defend ourselves against that.”
