Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff liked the new sprint format of Formula 1, which debuted at the British Grand Prix, but believes that it should only be used at selected “Grand Slam” events.
F1 tested a 17-lap 100km sprint race at Silverstone on Saturday to determine the starting grid for the full-length British GP on Sunday. Red Bulls Max Verstappen defeated the Mercedes duo Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas and took pole position.
Although Wolff immediately told Channel 4 afterwards that he believed “the pole should be for qualifying, not for the sprint races,” he later said the sprint was “a good addition”.
However, he also believes it shouldn’t be an integral part of a race weekend as it creates “too much coincidence”.
“I think it’s entertaining for the spectators on the track,” said Wolff.
“A start is always interesting and good content. And obviously [Fernando] It was fun watching Alonso. So overall I think it’s a good addition.
“I don’t see it in every race. I think there is too much coincidence.
“When you see Checo [Perez[ spinning out and then retiring, last is not the place that Sergio Perez should be, and therefore for him, obviously, it could really work against you if you’re one of the frontrunners.
“So there’s too much randomness, but I think if the next few ones go like this one, I think it has a place in the calendar in a limited form.”
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He added: “I’m not a fan of live experimenting. But this one is not hugely controversial. I am totally against reverse grids. It’s just fake.
“But here, everybody started from the right positions.
“I believe that qualifying was yesterday [Friday] and qualifying should also be called qualifying and not a sprint race.
“But that’s really a detail. I think it was a bit boring towards the end. But until then I would say it has its place.
“I think if it’s a kind of Grand Slam for a couple or a couple of races, I think that’s good because you have real entertainment on Saturday.
“We’re prime time on Friday night, prime time Saturday night and of course the [we have the] Grand Prize [on Sunday].
“I agree that FP2 on Saturday morning is a bit random.
“But you have to have a session where you run for a long time and because you don’t know the fuels and the fuel weight, so the results are actually irrelevant. Only the team knows.
“I think we can tweak the format a bit. But basically I think if we do five races like this, I’ll be a professional. Maybe four is the right amount, not five. “
Wolff also doesn’t believe the sprint may have spoiled Sunday’s main event by revealing that winners Verstappen and Red Bull have a stronger racing package than Hamilton and Mercedes – even though Hamilton admitted on Saturday that there was “nothing to do.” “to beat the Dutchman.
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