Fernando Alonso feels “Sprint format needs to change” after boring Qatar Sprint race. Fernando Alonso feels "Sprint format needs to change" amid Qatar race.

Qatar Sprint, a Yawn
The Lusail circuit, by its nature, doesn’t encourage exciting racing, and it’s difficult to see overtakes without the DRS advantage. The Qatar Sprint turned out to be one of the most boring ever, largely influenced by Lando Norris’ strategy to let teammate Oscar Piastri use his DRS. As a result, the positions that were valid for points after the first lap remained mostly “frozen.” The only changes to the standings came from Norris’ gift to Piastri, Charles Leclerc’s excellent overtake on Lewis Hamilton, and Max Verstappen’s more straightforward move on Pierre Gasly (both of which happened in the first two corners).

Fernando Alonso, meanwhile, started 11th and finished 11th: a Saturday that didn’t exactly excite the Spaniard, who is calling for changes to the Sprint format for 2025.

Fernando Alonso’s words:
“We’ve said this many times: if we keep the Q1, Q2, Q3 format, the best drivers will always finish in the top 10. Then, in the race, it doesn’t matter if it’s 50 laps or 21, they’ll always be at the front,” he explained post-race. “Either the grid composition needs to change, like reversing it or something similar, but I think the teams are against that, or we need to think of a more interesting qualifying format: I’m thinking of a single lap, where anything can happen, and with track evolution, the teams at the back might have a chance if they start last.”

“We need to shift this format, or else on Saturday we’ll just see what we’ll get in the first stint of the race. This has happened at many tracks, with Brazil being the only one that sometimes makes Sprint races more interesting, but that’s mainly because of high tire degradation or rain,” concluded the two-time world champion.