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The primary expertise of System 1’s newest iteration of its dash race format posed a query: Have the sequence’ efforts to progressively enhance the dash race format relegated it to an irrelevance?
F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali mentioned his dash race plan had “great feedback from everyone in the sport” when he launched it in 2021. However altering the format 4 instances in as a few years since then proved it’s a lot lower than the irresistible success F1 portrays it as.
The most recent change is the second important concession F1 has made its critics. The primary got here final 12 months, when F1 deserted the apply of utilizing dash races to find out the beginning order for the grid, restoring the significance of conventional qualifying periods.
This successfully decoupled dash races from the remainder of the grand prix weekend and made them additional mini-events in their very own proper. Now it has its personal model of System 2 and System 3’s standalone dash races, although solely at sure rounds.
The second change, this 12 months, is much more important, as dash races have been dropped from the second-highest billing on an F1 race weekend. As an alternative of occupying roughly the identical time sluggish on the grand prix, they now happen early on Saturday.
As an alternative of its former excessive billing, for spectators the dash race served preamble to the grand prix qualifying session later within the day. Its timing meant drivers had an additional incentive to be extra cautious within the race, and particularly firstly, as any harm might need prevented them qualifying properly for the grand prix, the place nearly thrice as many factors can be found.
There was no motive to count on the most recent change would make the dash races extra thrilling and there’s no indication it did. Whereas Saturday’s dash race wasn’t as processional as a lot of the dozen which preceded it, that was because of rain throughout the day prior to this’s qualifying session.
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The drivers greeted proceedings with their now customary shrugs. After taking pole place for the dash race Lando Norris mentioned he was “sad it’s not for a proper qualifying.” Verstappen felt the format change was “higher, a bit extra simple, I might say, however let’s not over-do it.”
One senior determine within the sport struck a balanced view about the advantages and downsides of the format change. Hekmut Marko admitted it had an attraction for promoters, however fails to fulfill him as a fan.
“Crimson Bull organises the Austrian Grand Prix [and sprint races] are merely a bonus for the spectators and due to this fact for the organiser that the followers are provided a qualifying on Friday and a race on Saturday,” he told Speed Week. “These two days are due to this fact simpler to market than the traditional weekend format. That’s the business facet.
“On the sporting facet, I’m extra of a fan of the normal course of as a result of a dash takes one thing away from the primary occasion. As well as, as a result of the rivals solely have one free apply session, the coordination may be unsuitable, as occurred to us two years in the past in Brazil. With the laws on the time, underneath which hardly any modifications to the automobile had been allowed, a race was pretty much as good as misplaced.
“Conclusion on the dash: as an organiser sure, as a racing fan no.”
The early beginning time for the dash race looked like getting all of it out of the best way earlier than the correct motion started. Having relegated them to a sideshow, essentially the most wise transfer F1 might make now could be to quietly drop them with the minimal lack of face over an experiment which has failed.
As an alternative, with no room to develop the 2025 F1 calendar as the present restrict of 24 rounds has already been reached, count on them to supply extra dash race rounds at a premium to promoters as a method of constant to extend the game’s revenues.
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