Sprint changes face F1 Commission vote TODAY

Amar Mehta
Tuesday 25 April 2023 10:40 - Updated: 10:41

A vote will take place today on proposed changes to Sprint weekends, ahead of the format returning for the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

GPFans can confirm that a vote will take place on Tuesday to confirm whether the new Sprint schedule will come into force in Baku.

These changes would mean that qualifying on Friday WOULD set the grid for Sunday's grand prix with the Sprint not altering the order.

Instead, Saturday would become its own condensed event, with a qualifying session replacing FP2 in the morning, followed by a sprint race in the afternoon.

It is hoped that these changes will encourage drivers to take more risks and attack more, safe in the knowledge that it will not impact their grid position for Sunday's race.

Since the introduction of the Sprint format, the Saturday morning FP2 session has been heavily criticised.

This is due to the fact that cars are already in parc fermé conditions, so only minimal changes can be made to set ups.

"The Saturday morning session was boring as hell," Haas boss Guenther Steiner told the latest Sky Sports F1 Podcast earlier in April.

"It was boring for me, for the fans it's even more boring, so doing a qualifying session instead is good."

If approved by the F1 Commission, the changes would need further approval from the FIA's World Motor Sport Council to be in place for Baku this weekend.

This year, the number of Sprint races has doubled from three to six and Saturday will be the first time a Sprint will take place on a street circuit.

Other weekends which will see a Sprint session include Austria, Belgium, Qatar, USA and Brazil.

The decision will be taken by the F1 Commission, which is a working group chaired by Stefano Domenicali and FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis and consists of representatives of teams and engine suppliers to discuss sporting, financial and technical matters in sport.

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