No modified FIA rules for sprint qualifying

This weekend Formula 1 will experiment with a new format and that is of course the sprint race. On Saturday afternoon the drivers will race a short sprint race and the result of this will determine the starting grid for the actual race on Sunday. This differs from a regular Grand Prix weekend but that is no reason for the FIA to change the rules regarding qualifying.

Penalties remain the same

The sprint race is shorter and as the result influences the starting position of the drivers on Sunday, some risks might be taken. Also, the race is shorter, which can also affect how a driver behaves on track. But whatever happens, the usual rules will be applied by Michael Masi and his team, he says in conversation with Motorsport-Total.com.

"If there is an incident involving two drivers, we can issue a grid penalty for the next Grand Prix. So grid penalties and time penalties, for driving violations and so on, those penalties will just be applied", with which the set of rules will not differ from what we are used to.

Shorter race

The only thing that effectively changes is the length of the qualifying/race. A normal race is usually around an hour and a half, but this sprint race is only a third of that. For the rest, despite the different structure of the race weekend, we will not see any changes. That doesn't exclude changes for later sprint races, but that can only be spoken about after the first try.

Masi: "After the first event, we are going to look internally at what worked, what didn't work and what areas need refinement. It's something new for everyone involved, especially in Formula One. The regulations traditionally refer to a very specific format that does not normally include sprint qualifying."

That's why the teams and drivers are going into it with an open mind and they have indicated that they will help think about how to shape this format further if it proves to be a success. "Everyone is very open and has committed to working together and seeing if maybe something comes up that we haven't thought of before," said Michael Masi.