Carlos Sainz continues to be a critic of the current Formula 1 Sprint format. The Spanish driver has shared his ideas on how to make these Saturday races more engaging for both drivers and fans.
The topic of Sprint Races remains a recurring discussion in Formula 1, even during race weekends. Since their introduction, Sprint races have attracted both support and criticism, with various proposals and counter-proposals. Meanwhile, the short Saturday races have largely kept the same format: Friday afternoon qualifying followed by a brief Sprint Race that kicks off the weekend before the main race.
Carlos Sainz, coming off strong performances in the second half of the season, has voiced his opinion on these Saturday mini-races. The main issue for the Williams driver is the current format, which he believes should be adjusted to avoid mirroring the first stint of the Sunday race.
“For me, it’s more about the format change that I consider necessary for the Sprint, and I think Stefano [Domenicali] is willing to do it. At the moment, I’m not a big fan of the Sprint because it reveals how the first stint on Sunday will unfold. Qualifying is almost the same, and Sunday’s first stint is very similar, maybe with a slightly lighter car but using the same set of tires. So yes, I would prefer to have different ideas for the Sprint so it doesn’t reveal too much about the race pace and results,” Carlos Sainz explained.
He then offered his own vision for how the Sprint format could be changed: “What solution could we adopt? A simple idea could be to make sure everyone races the Sprint on soft tires, which are high-degradation tires.”
“Normally, only on very few circuits do we choose soft tires for the first part of the race. This could be a simple short-term solution, also because every week we waste five sets of soft tires: we use them for one lap, then return them, and I don’t know where they end up—maybe in storage—but for us, they are essentially single-lap tires on many circuits. So this could be an easy solution, but probably not enough.” – the Spanish driver pointed out.
“I think something else is needed, something a bit spicier, and I believe that when it comes to making the Sprint race more exciting, it should be a good opportunity to experiment with different formats and have an open mind. If it works, great. If it doesn’t, we change it again as we’ve done in the past. You know, I’m not a big fan of reverse grids, but in this case, I wouldn’t be completely against trying something different.”
“I also think Sprint qualifying could be different, maybe with a bit of a super pole in SQ3. Just keep adding something different to the weekend, keep experimenting with new ideas. And, as I said, don’t be too critical about it. If it works, fantastic—it’s better for the format. If it doesn’t, don’t be afraid to admit it didn’t work and try something different.” – the former Ferrari driver concluded.
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