McLaren must be "sharp" to take advantage of sprint

McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl believes the team will need to be "sharp" in order to capitalise on the first sprint event of the season.

F1 ushers in the first of the reshuffled weekend formats at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix with qualifying taking place on Friday before a 100km sprint on Saturday to set the grid for Sunday's race.

The Woking-based team has scored with both cars in the two races Imola has hosted since returning to the calendar in 2020 and will be hoping to continue its more promising form from Australia.

“We have a good track record in Imola since it returned to the calendar in 2020, with double points for the team at both races," explained Seidl.

"We aim for the same this year, but a track like Imola often creates opportunities and the addition of the sprint format for this weekend means we’ll need to be operationally sharp and ready to capitalise."

F1's new regulations have allowed for closer, more exciting races in each of the opening three events.

But with Imola providing a narrower, more traditional challenge compared to Bahrain and the two street circuits in Saudi Arabia and Australia, Seidl said: “It will be interesting to see how the improved overtaking from these new cars will impact racing" at the "historic" venue.

"With the grid for Sunday determined by the sprint, there is bound to be plenty of exciting racing for the fans, now with the added incentive of points for the top eight on Saturday."

Daily Poll - Emilia Romagna GP: Will F1 Sprint work at Imola?

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

Lewis Hamilton is 'a sweet, classy gentleman', Hollywood A-Lister gushes over F1 superstar

• 1 hour ago

F1 drivers age: How old are Lewis Hamilton, Verstappen, Antonelli and co in 2026?

• 1 hour ago

Adrian Newey celebrates Aston Martin turnaround with heartfelt team radio message

• 2 hours ago

Sky Sports F1 expert fears Mercedes 'civil war' is coming as Antonelli overtakes Russell

• 3 hours ago

F1 insider pinpoints 'real issue' at Ferrari as Hamilton vs Leclerc debate rages

• Today 08:15

F1 News Today: Mercedes cost cap bombshell as McLaren get Ricciardo 'black mark'

• Today 07:30