Teams and the sport's bosses are supportive of plans, which are still being formulated, to change the format of F1's Sprint weekends in 2024 with further talks planned in January; F1 Commission also agrees teams can't starting developing 2026 cars for the sport's next rules era until 2025
Friday 24 November 2023 16:34, UK
Plans to change to Formula 1's Sprint format for 2024 have received support from the sport's teams and bosses.
Although any changes are not yet agreed and remain at a formative stage with further discussions planned in January, the FIA announced that a meeting at the Abu Dhabi GP the F1 Commission "gave overall support for an update to the Sprint Format for 2024 to further rationalise the weekend by separating Sprint activities from those for the Grand Prix".
It is understood that potential alternations discussed include changing the schedule of Sprint weekends to improve the flow of the event whereby the Sprint Shootout, which has taken place on Saturdays this year, would be moved to Friday with the short Sprint race to then follow on Saturday before qualifying for the main Sunday Grand Prix.
Discussions over greater points allocations and reverse-grid elements have also been up for discussion.
Parc ferme regulations could also be changed, with the current format meaning teams are unable to make significant changes to their car after a single hour-long practice session on a Friday.
"The Sporting Advisory Committee will work through specific details, particularly regarding timing and parc fermé regulations, for a final proposal to be presented to the F1 Commission for the first meeting of 2024," read an FIA statement.
The F1 Commission is made up of representatives from all F1 teams, governing body the FIA, and Formula 1 itself.
Meanwhile, with a number of further items agreed at Thursday's meeting for future seasons, the F1 Commission decided that teams could not work on their all-new cars for the sport's big rule change in 2026 until the start of 2025.
"The Commission agreed that no work may be carried out on the development of a car for the 2026 season before the start of 2025," confirmed the FIA.
In wake of the extreme heat that drivers faced at October's Qatar GP, it has also been agreed that a scoop to increase driver cooling will be fitted to F1 cars.
"Additional analysis is being carried out for supplementary cooling options for more extreme conditions," added the Commission statement.
A proposal to scrap tyre blankets for 2025 has also been shelved.
Speaking in the team representatives' press conference on Friday in Abu Dhabi, Red Bull boss Christian Horner and McLaren counterpart Andrea Stella outlined what they would like to see change for 2024.
There were six Sprint weekends on the 2023 calendar with the same number expected next season.
Christian Horner, Red Bull: "I think it's clear that the Sprint needs to evolve a bit. I can understand the concept and it being action on all three days, which for the promoter and for the fans has an interest. But I think the Sprints in some cases have been slightly underwhelming - there's no pit stop, it tends to stay in grid order and it's a little bit like getting a medal for a long run.
"I think there can be a little bit more racing introduced, but then you've got to look at the consequences of that, if you were to reverse the grid, if there were points involved etc, etc.
"I think it's very important that the next step that we make is one that is fixed for a long period of time. The Sprint concept is a new concept that's been introduced and in some areas it's very popular and with some traditionalists it's very unpopular. I think whatever it evolves to needs to be consistent for a long period of time.
"I think the necessary research, and I think the fan feedback is going to play a crucial role in this, in terms of what is it actually that the audience want? Do they actually enjoy the Sprint format as it is, or do they actually want to see a bit more racing if we're going to do a Sprint race? And if we're going to do that, then how do we reward the points, how do we incentivise drivers and teams? There's many topics attached to it, but the most important, fundamental thing is: what do the fans want?"
Andrea Stella, McLaren: "We think that some tuning in the sequence of the sessions and some changes when it comes to the parc ferme rules is the right direction. We don't think that there should be some dramatic changes in the execution of the Sprint race. That's our position."
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After the thrills of Las Vegas, Formula 1 heads to Abu Dhabi's Yas Marina Circuit for the 2023 season finale and another stunning spectacle under the lights. Watch the Abu Dhabi weekend live on Sky Sports F1, with lights out on Sunday at 1pm. Stream F1 on Sky Sports with NOW
