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George Russell (Williams), Antonio Giovinazzi (Alfa Romeo), Sebastian Vettel (Aston Martin) and Nicholas Latifi (Williams) discuss at Silverstone
Photo:
Mark Sutton / imago images / Motorsport Images
For the first time in its 70-year history, Formula 1 will hold a sprint race in Silverstone to determine the starting grid.
It will be held on Saturday afternoon, the Grand Prix of Great Britain then as usual on Sunday (4 p.m., live ticker SPIEGEL.de, TV: Sky).
But what is behind the format?
What will happen to qualifying?
And what do the drivers say?
The most important questions at a glance.
How does the sprint race work?
The sprint is a race on Saturday (5.30 p.m.) over a distance of 100 kilometers, which corresponds to 17 laps at Silverstone.
The whole thing takes about 25 to 30 minutes.
The result of the sprint race determines the starting grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday.
What is the idea behind it?
Formula 1 wants to offer spectators more action on the track.
If Friday is only used for preparation, competition sessions on all three days should now enhance the weekend.
In addition, the rule keepers are confident that they have laid the foundation for 30 minutes of tough racing.
While tire wear in the Grand Prix often leads to a wait-and-see tactic, in the sprint there should be full throttle over the entire distance.
"We tried to make that possible," said Formula 1 sporting director Ross Brawn: "We don't want anyone to hold back." This opportunity, so the thought, does not exist often in modern motorsport.
And if you are a real racing driver, you have to appreciate that: "They would also race with a shopping cart in the supermarket," said Brawn.
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Ross Brawn in Austria
Photo: Mark Sutton / imago images / Motorsport Images
Are there points?
Yes, the winner, the future Pole man, gets three points, the second two, the third one more point.
What will happen to qualifying?
The qualification continues, but it will be brought forward to Friday (7 p.m.).
The result of this one-hour session is the basis for the sprint line-up the next day.
The late start time on Friday is also intended to attract many interested parties to the end devices.
How often should the sprint race be held - and where?
It will be tested a total of three times this year, including in Monza (race weekend from September 10th to 12th) and sprint qualifying sessions are planned for one of the overseas races.
Then it is analyzed whether the format is future-proof.
But it should never completely replace normal qualifying.
"We want the sprint races to be more of a calendar event," Brawn said.
What do drivers and teams think about it?
Kimi Raikkonen
Until a few days ago, world champion
Lewis Hamilton
didn't know anything about the process
welcomes the pioneering spirit, but believes that it will "not be particularly exciting". The problem: Theoretically, the drivers can drive much more aggressively in the sprint than in the Grand Prix - but a failure would result in a ruined Sunday. “The most important thing will be to finish this short race. Otherwise you start from the very back on Sunday, ”said
Sebastian Vettel
. The Aston Martin pilot also pointed out the compression of the workload. Since the qualification follows after the opening training on Friday, there is little time for an optimal coordination. In the final training session on Saturday, the pilots will have to collect data for the long haul.
Günther Steiner,
team principal at Mick Schumacher's Haas racing team, said that the sprint is basically a success "if the fans like it".
However, he himself will instruct his drivers to get out of anger and keep the car on the track.
As a rookie,
Schumacher still
knows the sprint races from Formula 2, in which they are part of the standard program, he is looking forward to the races: “That will definitely be interesting.
It's a new format, maybe it's even easier for us because we have to get used to so many new things anyway, ”he said.
ngo / dpa / sid
