F1 News: Drivers Protest Against Season's First Sprint Race In China - 'We Shouldn’t Take The Risk'

Author:
Saajan Jogia
Apr 10, 2024

Formula 1 drivers have protested against the choice to host the inaugural sprint event of the season at the upcoming Chinese Grand Prix, which marks the sport's return to the Shanghai International Circuit after a hiatus since 2019, courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Key Takeaways:

Formula 1 drivers object to hosting the inaugural Sprint event of the season at the Chinese Grand Prix due to concerns over limited practice time on a track they last raced on five years ago.
Pirelli, the F1 tire supplier, shares apprehensions about the event due to the inability to conduct a pre-assessment of the circuit and uncertainty over tire selection.
Drivers, including Carlos Sainz and Max Verstappen, express concerns about safety and track conditions, urging for a return to a normal race weekend format.

The adoption of the Sprint format, which trims down practice sessions to a solitary one instead of the customary three, has sparked worry among drivers. Many advocate for abandoning the Sprint idea for the Chinese Grand Prix due to concerns over insufficient time to tackle any challenges on a track they haven't raced on for five years.

Formula 1 tire supplier Pirelli has also expressed apprehensions regarding the upcoming event as they have not had the opportunity to conduct a prior assessment of the circuit. The uncertainty revolves around tire selection, given possible track modifications, further complicated by the transition to 18-inch tires since the last race in 2019.

undefined — Nov 17, 2023; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Scuderia Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz Jr. of Spain (55) reacts

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz revealed that the drivers warned Formula 1 and its governing body, the FIA, about the potential dangers that lay ahead, emphasizing that it is "not a good choice" to hold a Sprint race at a venue where Formula 1 has been absent for four or five years. He said, as quoted by RaceFans.net:

“What we said in the drivers’ briefing, we said to the FIA and Formula 1, with these kind of cars to go to a track with one hour of practice and straight into qualifying, with the regulations that they put us [under], with the plank wear and things like this, and how tricky one bump could make the car, I think it’s not a good choice to choose to [hold a] sprint after four or five years absence."

In addition, Sainz has cautioned that the resurfacing work on the track may cause the grip levels to drop drastically, as witnessed in 2020 when the sport returned to Istanbul. He added:

“We also heard there’s been resurfacing going on, so Istanbul 2.0 maybe on the cards. I hope not.

“It just shows the uncertainty. Maybe for you guys at home it’s exciting, but for engineers and drivers, it’s something that for me, in my opinion, we shouldn’t take the risk and have a normal weekend.”

Reigning Formula 1 champion Max Verstappen added his views in the protest against the Chinese GP Sprint race, calling for a normal race weekend from the "perspective of the sport". He added:

“When you have been away from a track for quite a while, I think you never know what you’re going to experience, right? So it would have been better to have a normal race weekend there.

“On the other hand, it probably spices things up a bit more, and that’s maybe what they would like to see. But purely from a driving perspective, the performance perspective of the sport, I think it’s not the smartest thing to do.

“We’ll see what we get there. I always loved driving there so hopefully we can hit the ground running as well as we can, and hopefully we don’t need to fine-tune too many things on the car.”

Verstappen's teammate Sergio Perez, who will race in China for the first time with Red Bull, hoped that an unexpected setback, such as a drain hole cover incident, didn't put them "out of sync". He said:

“I just hope that there are no issues with the track, any drain holes, any issues like that.

“That will just put us out of sync.

“For the show, probably it’s a good thing. But I think from the preparation side, it’s going to be definitely one that is going to be really hard. I’ve never raced there, for example, with Red Bull so it’s going to be quite a lot to do in a single practice.”