Ross Brawn, F1’s sporting director, believes the sprint qualifications are a nice test case for Formula 1, although the sport will not hesitate to scrap the sprint qualifications again if they are unsuccessful.
“Finding a format where we strike the right balance between getting an exciting Friday and Saturday, using a shorter race format, while still taking nothing away from the important race on Sunday,” Brawn told the official F1 website.
“We had to find that balance. Everyone has a different opinion about what that should look like. It is also about finding an economic and logistical solution that does not have too great an impact on the teams. ”
According to Brawn, the idea of sprint races is backed by both the teams and the drivers, which is obviously very important for the potential success of the modified format of the three race weekends in question in 2021.
“The teams want this event, but they are working under huge challenges and we had to find a solution that was right for them without affecting the race weekend too much.”
“The drivers are fairly open minded about the format. That is also all we ask that they be open minded so that we can then evaluate this type of race weekend and decide on its future. If sprint qualifications do not work well, we will review it. ”
According to Brawn, it is also important to ensure that the so-called sprint qualification, a race over about 100 kilometers, cannot detract from the feature race on Sunday.
“It is important to remember that the intention is not to extend the race weekend further,” said Brawn. “It is not the intention to influence the race, the grand prix is still the most important moment of the race weekend.”
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