F1 held its second sprint race last Saturday in Monza, with the 100km grid line-up for Sunday’s Grand Prix offering little on-track action or overtaking maneuvers.
It came after F1 Motorsport Managing Director Ross Brawn announced that it was considering changing the sprint racing format for the next season, while Ferrari expressed support for a possible introduction of reverse rows.
Mercedes F1 boss Wolff made it clear that the team was unmoved in its rejection of the reverse starting grid and remained cautious about the success of sprint races.
Brazil is expected to host the third and final F1 sprint event of the 2021 season in November before expanding to other events next year.
Wolff said F1 must be aware of its responsibility to fans to remain a performance society and cautioned against making dramatic changes to regulations just to spice up the spectacle on the track.
“We have resisted experiments in the past because they were too controversial and, above all, against what the sport stands for, and that is real racing,” said Wolff.
“We have great personalities now, it’s getting carried over in the right way, and people know it’s an achievement society: the best man and the best machine win. You see, there are just more cars this year that are really competitive and have a really good fight at the front.
“Whatever conclusion we come to, the teams, the FIA, FOM and the F1 Commission, whether we stop or continue, we have to do it with a fine tooth comb.
“I don’t think these are the rules we should try [to hit] with a baseball bat. We have too much responsibility for our sport to just do freestyle with the regulatory changes.
“If Brazil proves to be an exciting race, then there might be an appetite for a continuation.
“But some of the suggestions that have come up are just confused.”
Also read:
When asked what F1 should do if sprint races were abolished and any reverse grid format eliminated, Wolff suggested driving a traditional weekend format with one less training session than usual.
“Start Friday afternoon with FP1, do a Saturday morning FP2, do a conventional qualifying like we did and a fantastic Grand Prix on Sunday,” said Wolff.
“You might want to warm up a little on Sunday morning to give people a little more spectacle.
“In any case, I would shorten the free training units so that the results are variable, but leave the rest as it is.”
The post F1 cannot change the format with “confused” ideas first appeared on monter-une-startup.
