Apr.26 - Kevin Magnussen thinks Formula 1 drivers will have "more fun" with two qualifying sessions this weekend at Baku.
The F1 Commission met in Geneva on Tuesday where the teams voted unanimously to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali's proposal to give the sprint race this weekend at Baku - and beyond - its own separate qualifying session.
The new qualifying will be called 'sprint shootout', with drivers given 12 minutes in Q1, 10 minutes in Q2 and 8 minutes in Q3.
"I think two qualifying sessions is a good idea," Haas driver Kevin Magnussen reacted, "because it means that in the sprint it will be possible to push more.
"There will no longer be the risk that you'll find yourself on the last rows of the grid on Sunday because something goes wrong in the sprint.
"With the new format, taking the risk is more justified which will benefit the entertainment side and I think the drivers will have more fun too."
The F1 Commission also voted to increase the number of allowed power units per season from three to four, with immediate effect.
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Should there be a separate sprint championship and make it for reserve drivers?
Replacing the pointless Saturday practice session under parc ferme restrictions with another qualifying is good & while the sprint results won't directly impact the race itself anymore, getting penalized in grid penalty form for something in the sprint is still possible & so is a pit lane start for unpermitted changes under parc ferme, such as a monocoque change if considerable damage occurs in the sprint.
As I pointed out in the other relevant matter-related article, increasing certain PU element allocations by one is unnecessary as nothing has been wrong with the limits in effect for a while.
There's something wrong here I'm thinking Bloes suggestion is a reasonable Idea, admittedly it cant last, so ill just ride out this moment of sanity and call it a glitch
Nearly choked on my coffee!
I'm a purist and don't favor F1 adopting a Friday night BASHCAR schedule, but I am trying to look for positives. MAG makes sense. The drivers will enjoy the format. It's a lot more fun RACING for a reason than running around with wire cages hanging off your car to entertain the mopes with slide rules.
It is interesting that ESPN has relegated GP quali to a sub-channel while showcasing the sprint shootout and race to the big channels.
Go down this route and how long before the races have a time of 60 Mins ?
This is getting confusing. So we now have 3 Sprint Races of 12, 10 and 8 minutes each on Saturday. So The whole grid goes out for each of these three additional mini-races on Saturday and stack-up according to the Friday qualifying. Did I get how it now works, or am I still confused? Please advise. Oh, BTW - are the ticket prices staying the same? Oh, and were doing this for the balance of the 2023 season with 26 - or was that 24 - races. Oh, me nerves.