Sainz suggests F1 rule change that could GREATLY heat up the action
Sainz suggests F1 rule change that could GREATLY heat up the action
Carlos Sainz has suggested an ‘inverted starting grid’ for the F1 sprint races as the Ferrari driver sought to liven up the performance on track.
There are six sprint races this season, with the next taking place at the Qatar Grand Prix in October.
The format this year involves an entire day dedicated to the Sprint, with Saturday morning spent on a miniature qualifying session before the race in the afternoon.
This was created in order to make the sport more exciting, but thanks to the dominance of Red Bull and Max Verstappen this year, sprint races often simply resemble a victory lap for a Red Bull driver with little time to involve team strategy or pit stops.
Turn the weekend on its head
Now, Sainz has suggested an alternative to the current starting grid, which follows the usual F1 rules of placing the fastest qualifier at the front and the slowest at the back, after a three-stage sprint ‘shootout’ session.
The Spaniard believes turning the grid on its head, and placing the slowest driver in P1, would help heat up the action.
He told the P1 Podcast: "Personally I would continue with the sprint races, I would do them with an inverted starting grid.
“The group would become more compact and those who are usually in the rear would give everything to win a few points.
“Think of Verstappen starting from the last square. In addition, a different show would be offered to the audience, compared to now that the sprint is a preview of Sunday's race."
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F1 Standings
Drivers
- Charles Leclerc
- Carlos Sainz
- Lando Norris
- Oscar Piastri
- Pierre Gasly
- Esteban Ocon
- Sergio Pérez
- Max Verstappen
- Alexander Albon
- Logan Sargeant
- Lewis Hamilton
- George Russell
- Nico Hülkenberg
- Kevin Magnussen
- Fernando Alonso
- Lance Stroll
- Valtteri Bottas
- Zhou Guanyu
- Nyck De Vries
- Liam Lawson
- Daniel Ricciardo
- Yuki Tsunoda
Races
- Gulf Air Grand Prix of Bahrain 2023
- Saudi Arabian Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Australia 2023
- Grand Prix of China 2023
- Grand Prix of Azerbaijan 2023
- Miami Grand Prix 2023
- Qatar Airways Gran Premio Del Made In Italy E Dell'emilia Romagna 2023
- Grand Prix of Monaco 2023
- AWS Gran Premio de España 2023
- Grand Prix du Canada 2023
- Grand Prix of Austria 2023
- Aramco Grand Prix of Great Britain 2023
- Grand Prix of Hungary 2023
- Grand Prix of Belgium 2023
- Heineken Dutch Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Italy 2023
- Grand Prix of Singapore 2023
- Grand Prix of Japan 2023
- Qatar Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of the United States 2023
- Gran Premio de la Ciudad de Mexico 2023
- Rolex Grande Prêmio de São Paulo 2023
- Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix 2023
- Grand Prix of Abu Dhabi 2023
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