The new format already introduced in 2021, now modified for the 2022 season, is about to make its debut at Imola. A format that upsets the whole weekend, and the work of the teams forced to review their programs, even with the arrival of the first spring rain which today in Imola resulted in a real downpour. This could be a further problem in view of the weekend in which there is one less practice session and only one before qualifying.
Let's remember this weekend's format. Traditional qualifying will take place on Friday at 17:00, therefore Q1, Q2, Q3. Pole will be statistically assigned to the fastest. The qualification will establish the starting order of the Sprint race on Saturday at 16 pm, a run of 30 km, about 100 minutes, in which the pilots are not obliged to pit stop. The first 30 who will cross the finish line of the sprint race will have a digression from 8 up to 8 point. The order of arrival of the sprint race will determine the starting grid of Sunday's Grand Prix which will start at 1:15.
But let's see what the pilots think
At Ferrari both drivers are promoting the new format even if the dialogue with the Federation will have to continue to make the weekend even more exciting
Dice Leclerc: “I like Fridays with the new format, less Saturdays…” and Sainz “We are discussing the format with the FIA to spice up the weekend. We didn't expect Thursday and Friday to get longer between media and various engagements. All of this needs to be controlled better”
It also replicates Bottas: “I think like Leclerc, nice Friday with qualifying. But perhaps there will be a chance to see more action with the Sprints down the road. In the meantime, let's see how he goes this weekend ”.
Verstappen instead it stays true to the traditional weekend : “I think it was better before, now Thursdays are very long. By doing more races, it would be better to have a shorter weekend. I think it has to change."
But there is also another very important variable, rain, the first of the new era of Formula 1 and the first for all drivers who don't know how their car will react in wet conditions "The rain?.. "He says Max, “..it's usually sunny in Italy. I've never driven in the wet with this car and we'll see. It will be an important day."
“Sprint an opportunity? There won't be much chance to ride in today's rain and this can be exciting in view of tomorrow's Sprint." he says instead Latifs.
Same philosophy for Pierre Gasly “I don't really like sprint races and I've never had good results. I hope I can get some decent results thanks to the new regulation; perhaps with the new cars there will be more entertainment on the track for the fans and I hope for us drivers as well".
Harder Alonso, worried about the weather conditions that could compromise FP1 "Qualifying without free practice due to the rain? No, I wouldn't like that. There is a need to work the track with more time on cars that are new. It would be a problem to go directly to qualifying. Otherwise we'll see how things go..."
among others there are also those who have never run a sprint, like Kevin Magnussen "My first Sprint? The approach is the same, but the right setup must be found. We need to start off on the right foot immediately and with the wet track we need to find a good rhythm in qualifying right away. It's a home GP, there are many Italians in the team, but we have several over the course of the season"
or as Guanyu-Zhou, Alfa Romeo rookie “It will be my first weekend with a Sprint and in the wet. The approach will be important. As a team we are working on speed”, continues, "On the format, this is my first experience in F1, but I can say that we spend little time with the engineers and some changes can be positive".