Format Change For F1?

Haas, F1, AGP.

    Formula One teams are in the business of racing. F1 drivers get paid to race. With the advent of the Sprint in 2021, we now enjoy more racing than ever over the course of a Grand Prix weekend. The Sprint is a third of the distance of the GP (100kms) and is contested on a Saturday. 2023 saw 6 events incorporate the Sprint. The majority of drivers are largely in favour. The teams seem to relish it as they only get one practise session and then straight into qualifying for Sunday's Grand Prix, therefore rewarding the teams that are better prepared and able to react on the fly and exposing the lesser. The cream always rises to the top. But can the weekend format be improved upon?
    Delving into some research and mulling over our own deliberations, we also probed a few of our colleagues. The popular opinion is that 6 events with the Sprint is about the right number. Contrarily, there's conjecture as to whether there's enough build up to the Grand Prix itself? Has the value of a GP been diminished? Currently points are awarded in the Sprint down to 8th place and count for the Driver's and Constructor's Championships. Couldn't GP victory prestige be restored by simply awarding points in the Sprint only for the Constructor's Championship? The drivers would be reminded of who their employers are, and that F1 is a team sport. They would still race as hard as they are professional and the best in the world. Plus when the visor comes down....
    The other point that warrants debate is by the time the GP comes around on Sunday, can anyone remember from Friday who qualified where? Would a reshuffle of proceedings be more beneficial to intensify the build up to the GP? By that we mean moving qualifying for the Sprint, the Sprint Shootout, to Friday afternoon, the Sprint to Saturday lunch time, and keeping GP qualifying in its traditional Saturday afternoon allocation, with the GP of course on Sunday. This fully separates the Sprint from the GP. There's no doubt the current elimination style down to a top 10 final qualifying format is largely successful, but is the Sprint Shootout adopting the same format just too much of a good thing? We're not ashamed to say that we were fans of the old I hour free for all qualifying of a few years back. Remember when the top combatants would outdo each other by laying down benchmarks as track conditions improved, only for Messrs Senna or Schumacher to come out and blow them all away? To differentiate the Sprint from the GP, the Sprint Shootout could adopt such a qualifying format. To avoid a lack of running in the first 20 minutes like yesteryear, F1 can simply mandate that all teams have to attempt a minimum of one run every 15 minutes. 
    One thing's for sure. The Sprint is here to stay. At least for the short to medium term but with definite room for improvement. Now if only we can get drivers pushing all the time instead of managing tyres....  

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