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Suggestion: 'Friday qualifying to set grid for sprint race and main race'

Suggestion: 'Friday qualifying to set grid for sprint race and main race'

15-11-2021 19:30 Last update: 20:45
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GPblog.com

This season Formula 1 experimented with the new sprint race format. At Silverstone, Monza and Sao Paulo, a sprint race took place on the Saturday, which determined the grid for Sunday's race. Ted Kravitz explains more about the 2022 plans.

Not everyone is happy with the current format. Several drivers already complained about the format of the weekend, which made the free practice session on Saturday useless. The teams were not allowed to make any changes to the car after qualifying on Friday evening.

On Sky Sports analyst Kravitz explains what he thinks are the plans for the format in 2022. Earlier Ross Brawn confirmed that there will be six sprint races next season. According to Kravitz, two crucial things will change in the sprint format.

More points and pole position to Friday

Firstly, it seems that the sprint race will become a championship in itself with its own points. There will be more points to earn, something Brawn also talked about. Now only the top three earn a few points. From next season the winner will earn ten points, the second driver nine points, P3 will get eight points, and so on up to tenth place.

Another important point is that the sprint race will no longer determine the starting grid for the race on Sunday. Qualifying will still take place on Friday evening and will determine the starting position for both the sprint race and the normal race. Pole position will again go to the driver with the fastest time on Friday. This might make drivers take more risks during the sprint race, as the result of this will not have any consequences for the main race anymore.