FORMULA 1 PIRELLI BRITISH GRAND PRIX 2021 - SILVERSTONE...SPRINT RACE....▄▀▄▀▄▀ SPOILERS▄▀▄▀▄▀.

Yes, there were separate clumps --- but the clumps kept faster cars behind, letting the clump ahead get further ahead.
(E.g. Alonso holding up the McLarens and Perez. Russel holding up Ocon, Gasly, etc.)

It's harder to pass a car that's on the tail of another car. So the faster cars couldn't get around slower ones, leading to clumps, while the different clumps got further apart.

Heck, the "normal" F1 race is something of a "sprint race" itself, compared to old style racing.
This "short" race is much like qualifying before the "knock-out" format, with all the cars getting in each other's way.

 

Well here is the explanation.
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I don’t know they are so against calling it a race because it’s definitely a race

 

Its all about the money .Liberty need more viewers especially on Friday. You get two starts which in theory should also attract more viewers. If it somehow ends up in more interesting racing its a bonus which in turn could attract more viewers.

 

But that won't be the case. IF Max stays ahead pre- DRS the gap at the first pitstops will be around 3 seconds. Perhaps just enough time for Mercedes to either do an undercut or overcut if that works here....

 

Agree! This small mess was similar to 'knockout' qualy of the past. Sprint created jam where slower cars held up faster cars, as in the race. True full out speed was not found as the aero makes passing difficult as in the races normally. Its a gimmick that Liberty now seem in love with per Ross saying how positive the feedback is. So its now rules by race crowd lol.

Sprint only showed what race holds for us today overall. There is more pressure for 1 good lap than 17 in a driving mess, stuck in slow traffic or NEEDLESS accidents. On potential cost alone this should be discarded.

 

Hey, I know...put the field in the reverse order of their driver's points standings (hold a lottery for the drivers with zero points) and then award two points for passing, deduct one point for losing a position, and deduct five points for striking another driver (both drivers get deductions so we don't have to judge who was at fault). The faster cars would be incentivized to pass, the slower cars would want to block, those pretty equal in speed would fight it out while faster cars are trying to get by them, and no one will want to cause a collision. Since they're just making crap up, this would at least make it a race that would have fun from the lead to the last car...

 

That would not be F1, but it could make an entertaining video game.

 

True, but it would beat what Sainz called the "fun for seven corners and then a procession"...except for Alonso and Vettel, who actually seemed to be doing what Liberty hoped for lol.

 

It was fun for the first 2-3 laps, just like most races are these days. The qualifying format is the last that needs changing. Sure for the past 8 years (I'm including Vettels last season) it's been mostly pretty clear who would be on pole, with only the rare exception, but this was purely because of the one sided dominance of 1 team. The format isn't to blame for that, and the quali sprint race wouldn't change anything on that outcome. In fact I think the sprint race reduces the outcome...even the past 8 years the final laps of qualifying have often been very exciting, to see a car on the very edge of grip and drivers battle it out for the last few hundreds for position has been mega entertaining. With this? The sprint settles after a few laps and it's then basically wait to see if anyone messed up. Daft idea.

 

BOGO ! Newer fans will prefer, curmudgeons will not. And yes, I know what that implies…..

 

Many races are sold out without this 'gimmick'. Good racing brings fans. We ask for it. Better, closer racing, not Saturday cartoons.

 

To the extent that qualifying pace equals race pace, lining up the cars in order of decreasing speed will result in less on-track passing in the race.

Every change to qualifying in recent memory seems designed to made qualifying pace more closely match race pace, so we shouldn't be surprised when there is less on track passing and the whole thing comes down to tire management.

We can argue over whether it's the best way to accomplish this or not, but nobody can argue that the sprint race doesn't shuffle the order around. We should see more action on Sunday.

 

Excellent point.

Very disappointing for Brawn to have come out and say that ''the fans'' found the sprint race fantastic....From what I've read (not just here), it's been quite disappointing from many. Yep, even those whose driver came out on top!

 

FWIW.
In this format experiment, I did not watch free practice 2.
FP 1 is okay. Qualifying is OK.
But not being able to work on the car set up in FP 2 should be changed.
Some say FP2 is just a tire test, which I could agree with.
Then the Sprint was okay.
Again, after the Sprint the car should still be able to modified in a FP3.
Then we could have "surprises" in the actual race.

 

Would be good if:

Friday - Normal Qualifying
Saturday - 50% race distance, half points awarded
Sunday - Reverse from Saturday's results, full distance, full points awarded

No need to travel too many locations all over the world, save costs, more exciting