F1 set to vote through new rule changes for Azerbaijan GP with new qualifying time and slimmed down sprint races

FORMULA ONE bosses are expected to vote to revamp the weekend format —  and cut mind-numbing practice sessions.

Team leaders, F1 and FIA chiefs will meet in Geneva on Tuesday morning where the proposed format is likely to be rubber-stamped.

For the meantime, it would apply to the six sprint-race weekends this season and come into play this week at the first one, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku.

And it will see the race make-up change as follows . . .

Friday morning would be FP1 as usual. A 60-minute  session will now be the ONLY practice of the weekend and after it cars are placed in parc ferme,  meaning no more major changes can be made to them.

Friday afternoon would now be qualifying for Sunday’s GP.

The session will be cut into the regular Q1, Q2 and Q3 segments, with the five slowest drivers eliminated in Q1 and then five more in Q2.

The top-ten shootout is in Q3 and the fastest driver  claims pole position.

 Saturdays are  a stripped-down sprint event, separate from the rest of the GP.

And  Saturday morning will be qualifying for the short sprint,  rather than a practice session. While it follows the usual Q1, Q2 and Q3 format like regular qualifying, the sessions are shorter, with eight minutes allocated for Q3.

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That means drivers would only get one or two attempts at setting their best times.

Saturday afternoon will  be a shorter 100km race, where points are awarded to cars  in the top eight.

The first-place driver receives eight points — and  the number then decreases for each spot.

Nothing changes for Sunday, which is reserved for the GP.  There will be 51 laps in Baku with usual rules applied.

F1 has been accused of ­meddling  in the DNA of the sport but I like the proposals.

Practice sessions have become dull and meaningless, while  this revised format means there are now four things to fight for over the weekend    — two qualifying  sessions and two races.

It might take a while to get your head around it, however more action can only be a good thing.

For the time being, this is just for the races in Baku, Austria, Belgium, Qatar, Austin and Sao Paulo.

But if it goes well, I would not be surprised to see this become the regular format for all race weekends in 2024.

Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk