'F1 Parc Fermé already after qualifying on Friday in sprint race weekend'

In 2021, during three race weekends, a sprint race will be held on the Saturday to determine the starting order for the race on Sunday. However, with normal qualifying on Sunday, the Parc Fermé regulations also shift.

Parc Fermé in F1

Normally, Formula 1 teams are not allowed to do anything to their car after qualifying on Saturday. Small adjustments may be made towards the start of the race, but to prevent teams from completely re-tuning their car for qualifying, the Parc Fermé rules have been established.

However, in the new format with qualifying on Friday and the sprint race on Saturday, this rule will be moved forward. According to Auto, Motor und Sport the Parc Fermé will now start after qualifying on Friday. This will prevent teams from setting up their car for qualifying, only to set it up for a race on Saturday.

Content of the practice sessions

This means that teams only have one practice session to determine their setup for qualifying and the race. On Saturday, there is a second practice of one hour before the sprint race, but no major changes can be made. The question now is what the practice sessions will be like.

One would expect the first practice to focus on qualifying, leaving Saturday's practice session to focus on the long runs. However, the setup on Friday will not be focused on qualifying, as it will remain the same for the sprint race on Saturday and the main race on Sunday. So what we will probably see is a mix of short and long runs in the first practice, and only long runs during the second practice on Saturday.