Saturday sprint races

BTCC frog · 4 Feb 2021, 22:10 (Ref:4033522)

Do you want Saturday Sprint Races or not?

https://www.racefans.net/2021/02/04/...races-in-2021/

Tourer · 4 Feb 2021, 22:57 (Ref:4033525)

Sceptical about the idea but to me it's not a yes/no proposition without more detail on exactly how they intend to do it, what length, what work allowed after the sprint race & before the GP, tyres - how many, once compound or choice, how much fuel etc etc

**Adam43** · 4 Feb 2021, 23:00 (Ref:4033527)

I see the benefits, but I’m cool with Q and nothing more. And actually I want less races not more.

Now if we could have half the race weekends I might be more up for it, but I don’t think that is the idea.

Skam85 · 5 Feb 2021, 00:04 (Ref:4033530)

I'm not sure of how popular this opinion is, but I enjoyed the one-shot qualifying of the mid-2000s.

chillibowl · 5 Feb 2021, 01:29 (Ref:4033534)

I did as well.

As mentioned, for sure need to know more details about the rules etc but overall, i like the idea of different formats for different GP weekends.

BTCC frog · 5 Feb 2021, 08:35 (Ref:4033555)

The main reason I don’t want it is because it ruins the tradition of Formula 1. There can only be one race per weekend, and every race is preceded by a qualifying session. Otherwise, it ruins all the statistics and history books. If this happened in Formula e, I wouldn’t mind, because there have only been six seasons of it. But you just can’t break a seventy-year old tradition unless there is a problem with it, which there isn’t.

And of course, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

S griffin · 5 Feb 2021, 10:37 (Ref:4033581)

The 1959 German GP was run in two heats, as were various non championship races. A sprint race could be fine, but only if it wasn't run as a championship event. I'm gonna abstain on voting on this one for now

steve_r · 5 Feb 2021, 13:55 (Ref:4033600)

No. Qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday works well for me. There are other ways of mixing things up, but I would be going off topic.

Theunser · 5 Feb 2021, 14:58 (Ref:4033607)

So this is basically suppose to make F1 exciting. But is it meant to be exciting? I don't think so. The best driver with the best equipment wins. This is a sport. The best wins. If it is exciting, it's exciting, if its not, its not.
A sprint race is just extra miles and extra money thrown out.
The results would be the same.

Gingers4Justice · 5 Feb 2021, 15:02 (Ref:4033608)

Quote:

Originally Posted by BTCC frog

The main reason I don’t want it is because it ruins the tradition of Formula 1. There can only be one race per weekend, and every race is preceded by a qualifying session. Otherwise, it ruins all the statistics and history books. If this happened in Formula e, I wouldn’t mind, because there have only been six seasons of it. But you just can’t break a seventy-year old tradition unless there is a problem with it, which there isn’t.

And of course, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

We used to have non-championship races many decades ago, and that hasn’t affected the history books.

Unless there’s a reverse-grid element, I can’t see what this will add. It will just be a shorter Grand Prix with nothing riding on it.

crmalcolm · 5 Feb 2021, 15:37 (Ref:4033611)

Changing the format of a sport to ensure long lasting appeal is not unique to motorsport. Many high profile sports around the world have changed, or are looking seriously at ways they might change.
Within each of these sporting communities, there are tradionalists who think nothing should ever be changed about their sport, and there are others who clamour for change.
Is a Saturday sprint race the right thing - I'm not sure.
What is certain is that every sport, if it wants to remain appealing in the future, has to look at how it must continue to adapt to the global appetite.

What is certain is that it easy to put forward the arguments for and against, without the context of seeing it in practice. Surely what 2020 has taught us is that trying something different can give some welcome benefits.

IIRC, many said that having back-to-back races at the same track would be a bad thing. Many also said that the Bahrain outer track would be a snooze-fest. Both easy arguments to make without evidence.

At the moment, we are talking hypothetical. Why not have a couple of sprint races during the season and see what they bring?

S griffin · 5 Feb 2021, 16:27 (Ref:4033620)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Theunser

So this is basically suppose to make F1 exciting. But is it meant to be exciting? I don't think so. The best driver with the best equipment wins. This is a sport. The best wins. If it is exciting, it's exciting, if its not, its not.
A sprint race is just extra miles and extra money thrown out.
The results would be the same.

Exactly. For me F1 should have rules that encourage close racing. The problem is for too long F1 has tried to force close racing with gimmicks like DRS or two compounds per race. Keep it simple and easy to understand and people will come. Even if the racing isn’t great, the spectacle should be good

chillibowl · 5 Feb 2021, 19:06 (Ref:4033647)

I feel like we have been here before.

crmalcolm · 5 Feb 2021, 19:36 (Ref:4033648)

https://twitter.com/thejamesbeckett/...616614409?s=19

E.B · 5 Feb 2021, 19:48 (Ref:4033650)

And all this talk of extra races etc helps meet the mandate to reduce costs how?
Asking for a friend.