F1: Teams say 'yes' to second qualifying

(GMM) Formula 1 teams have apparently approved CEO Stefano Domenicali’s plan to spice up the ‘sprint’ race weekend format.

It emerged in Australia that the sport’s Italian chief wanted to replace a practice session with a second qualifying session.

“Of course the drivers need time to practice,” Domenicali told Sky Deutschland. “But the people in the stands come to see power and performance.

“The more often you give the teams and drivers the chance to show who they are, the better the show is.

“Together with the drivers and teams we are thinking about what could be the best plan for that,” the F1 CEO added.

Race winner Max Verstappen of the Netherlands driving the (1) Oracle Red Bull Racing RB19 leads Second placed Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain driving the (44) Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team W14, Third placed Fernando Alonso of Spain driving the (14) Aston Martin AMR23 Mercedes and the rest of the field at the second restart during the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit on April 02, 2023 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) // Getty Images / Red Bull Content Pool

It is believed Domenicali wants the ‘plan’ to be voted on and approved before the very next race at Baku – and according to Sky Deutschland, the agreement of the teams has at least been achieved.

Now, there will be separate qualifying sessions for both Saturday’s sprint race and the main grand prix on Sunday.

Qualifying for Sunday’s race will now apparently take place on Friday afternoons, with another separate qualifying for the sprint to then occur on Saturday.

“Stefano put a little bit more of his vision out there for the future,” said Haas boss Gunther Steiner, “because that is what he has to do for FOM – have a vision, where are we going?”