F1 News: Red Bull Main Force Behind Radical Sprint Format Change

It has been reported that Red Bull was the main team pushing for the new sprint race format which fans saw at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

The new format consisted of Free Practice One followed by the qualifying session for the grand prix on the Friday. Saturday hosted the sprint shootout, which is a shorter version of qualifying followed by the sprint race in the afternoon. The grand prix then went ahead as normal the Sunday.

Despite concerns over the safety of hosting the sprint race in Baku, it now transpires that Red Bull were the most keen to implement the new format.

⚠️ | Michael Schmidt reports that Red Bull campaigned the most for the new sprint format.

They believe they can benefit from less practice time because they have better simulation tools.

Mandatory tyres also minimizes the risks and opportunities to make mistakes.#F1
— Fastest Pitstop (@FastestPitStop) May 11, 2023

According to F1 journalist, Michael Schmidt, the Austrian team believe they can gain the most from fewer practice sessions because their simulation tools are above the rest of the grid. On top of this, enforcing the mandatory tyres minimises the risks within the session.

Many thought that Red Bull would be the most against the new set-up with them not wanting to risk their ongoing dominance throughout the 2023 season. The team has won all five of the races so far this season and four out of those five have been incredible 1-2 finishes for the team.

Max Verstappen is currently leading the drivers' championship with 119 points followed by his teammate Sergio Perez who has 105 points. Red Bull has an insane lead on the rest of the grid, they are currently leading the constructors' championship with 224 points ahead of Aston Martin in second with 102 points.