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Oscar Piastri has outlined a series of changes he feels could be made to improve F1’s sprint format.
As a rookie, Piastri has been able to assess the merits – or otherwise – of the sprint setup with a fresh set of eyes, the last of which takes place around Interlagos for the São Paulo Grand Prix.
There are different views throughout the paddock, some extreme, such as those from Red Bull duo Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez who would prefer it was scrapped altogether. That is not an option, though, F1 will take.
Other suggestions have included a reverse grid, or reversing the top-1o from qualifying. Whatever the path taken going forward, it is clear the sprint is here to stay.
Asked by Speedcafe at Interlagos as to what he would do differently if he had the opportunity, he said: “The first thing, and Austin probably highlighted this, is giving the teams a bit more flexibility to change things.
“At the moment, it’s a very difficult decision if you know your car is going to be on the edge of illegal. It’s either you run the risk and get disqualified or start from the pitlane.”
That was with reference to the fact following qualifying for the grand prix on Friday evening, changes are unable to be made to the cars as they are locked under parc fermé conditions.
Ahead of the United States GP, Aston Martin and Haas were forced to break parc fermé in order to work on the upgrade packages they had introduced on their cars for that race, leading to pitlane starts.
Piastri then added: “Also, potentially changing the order of the two qualifying sessions. Maybe having the sprint qualifying first (on Friday), and the main race qualifying on Saturday.
“Maybe they could also change something with the qualifying format for the sprint because at the moment, yes, it’s on medium tyres for the first couple of sessions, but in essence, it’s very similar to normal qualifying.”
As to the one-third distance event on Saturday afternoon, Piastri, who won the last sprint race in Qatar, is adamant there should not be the gimmick of a reverse grid.
“Some people are saying that, but now that we’re up at the front, maybe not,” he remarked with a wry smile.
“But doing reverse grids and stuff just makes the sprint complicated because, even for me winning the sprint in Qatar, it’s a funny place to be in where you’re a ‘race winner’, but not a race winner.
“And if you then change that to someone who’s won from a reverse grid, it’s kind of a difficult feeling to describe to people.
“Also, it’s a difficult thing for people to assess what it means, so I think we still have to protect that side of things and make sure the grand prix remains the peak.”
This weekend will arguably be one of the most difficult for Piastri in terms of the sprint as Interlagos is a track he has no knowledge of.
Aside from the opening sprint in Azerbaijan, Piastri had previously driven at the other four – Austria, Belgium, Austin, and Doha.
It means the sole practice session on Friday will be crucial, with the 22-year-old Melburnian left surprised by the undulating nature of Interlagos following a track walk.
In terms of preparation, he said: “I did simulator work before the triple-header started and I walked the track this morning, that counts. I’ve also driven it on video games and stuff in the past.
“It looks like a cool circuit – very old school, very historic. It’s got a lot more elevation than it looks on TV. So that’s always a fun challenge.
“For me. that surprised me a bit. I feel like I’ve gone to a few tracks (this year) where that’s been the case.
“It certainly drops a lot more at Turn 1 than you think, and goes uphill a lot more at the last corner.”
