{"id":794957,"date":"2021-07-17T20:38:10","date_gmt":"2021-07-17T19:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/?p=794957"},"modified":"2021-07-17T21:03:18","modified_gmt":"2021-07-17T20:03:18","slug":"f1-sprint-qualifying-makes-its-case-as-silverstone-sun-favours-verstappen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/articles\/single-seaters\/f1\/f1-sprint-qualifying-makes-its-case-as-silverstone-sun-favours-verstappen\/","title":{"rendered":"F1 sprint qualifying makes its case, as Silverstone sun favours Verstappen"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Silverstone<\/a> felt ground-breaking for myriad reasons. After nigh on 18 months of lockdowns, social distancing and meeting in groups of six, we had a capacity crowd at a Grand Prix. And how!<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t ask me whether it\u2019s a reflection of F1\u2019s<\/a> rude health right now or simply freedom, liberation and a place to go, but Silverstone was rammed to the rafters \u2013 on Friday.<\/p>\n

The new race format may have piqued interest too: after 1044 races of starting the quickest man in qualifying at the front, F1 \u2018qualifying\u2019 looked a bit different.<\/p>\n

In 2021 F1 has already moved from 3hrs of free practice on the opening day to 2hrs. And as an experiment with a view to future adoption, those two hours would now be just one, starting at 2.30pm Friday, with a similar format qualifying hour to what we\u2019re used to kicking off at 6pm. Great for European viewers, who had time to get home after the week\u2019s work and settle down with a beer and F1 qualifying. Not so good for any ambition to get out of a packed Silverstone anywhere south of midnight. But hey, who cared about that?<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow Lando Norris got even faster & captured a new\u00a0F1 generation\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t
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Lunchtime and a visit to the McLaren Technology Centre. It is a treat that never grows old. The cool sci-fi calm of the long, lakeside boulevard peppered by some of…<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAugust 2021\n\t\t\t\t\t\tIssue<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
By\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDamien Smith<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/article>\n <\/div>\n
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I say \u2018similar format qualifying hour\u2019 because the only real difference involved tyres. Drivers had four sets of soft-compound Pirellis for use in Q1\/Q2, with those progressing to Q3 receiving an extra set. No longer would the race-start tyres of the top 10 in Q3 need to be those on which they set their quickest lap in Q2. Tyre choice for both a 17-lap \u2018sprint qualifying\u2019 race on Saturday and Sunday\u2019s full-length main event, would be free across the entire grid. The winner of \u2018sprint qualifying\u2019 would receive three world championship points, with two and one on offer for second and third places respectively.<\/p>\n

Opinion was polarised. Those behind it thought it would spice up the entire weekend; giving a proper meaning to an F1 Friday plus added interest on Saturday, while maintaining a traditional Sunday.<\/p>\n

The naysayers pointed out that Saturday\u2019s sprint qualifying race was unlikely to provide no-holds-barred scrapping. Would Friday qualifying\u2019s top two, Lewis Hamilton<\/a> and Max Verstappen<\/a>, really get stuck into each other over a short sprint race? They were likely to finish first and second anyway, so would they really go for it to gain one extra point when the downside of any move going terminally wrong was starting at the back in the main race and severely compromising their chances of scoring the big points? And, if you were outside the top three, with nothing on offer at all, well, you just wouldn\u2019t bother.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will go for it still, but maybe leaving a bigger margin when in sprint qualifying than in the main race,\u201d opined Fernando Alonso<\/a>. Christian Horner, meanwhile, was not convinced that his man would be able to help himself anytime he spotted an opportunity anywhere. Mention restraint to Max Verstappen and you\u2019d probably need give him a dictionary at the same time.<\/p>\n

\n \"Start\n
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No restraint at the start of the sprint qualifying race for Max Verstappen<\/p>\n

\n Xavi Bonilla \/ DPPI \n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

Another concern was that with freedom of tyre choice for everyone in both races, the strategic element would go out of the window and you stood a much bigger chance of witnessing a procession. Which sounded valid. You did have to factor in, however, that a 100km (17-lap) race was achievable on the soft compound Pirelli. The medium compound would be the quickest way to cover the race if you could run in free air. But, would some opt for the soft, enjoy greater traction off the line and a grippier opening couple of laps to pick up positions, then block as if their life depended on it? Silverstone has never been the easiest track on which to pass, DRS or not\u2026<\/p>\n

Friday qualifying<\/strong><\/h3>\n

First off, a big thumbs-up for Friday qualifying. It unquestionably enlivened the day and was superbly fought between the big two. Mercedes<\/a> had brought a significant aero upgrade package, although Hamilton played it down. The W12 was formidable in the first two sectors where, with its trimmed out rear wing, it was setting the pace. In a 2021 role reversal, Christian Horner reckoned that Red Bull was losing about six-tenths to Mercedes in those two sectors, with Hamilton\u2019s car set-up likely to make him a nuisance on Hangar Straight if he was anywhere near the Red Bull<\/a>. Verstappen, by contrast, hauled back time in sector three.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds a bit funny to hear \u2018You\u2019ve scored pole position\u2019<\/p>\n

To the delight of the home fans, Hamilton was quickest on Friday by 0.075sec, the time done on his first Q3 run with the benefit of a tow from team mate Valtteri Bottas<\/a>. And here\u2019s a major problem for me. That should have been \u2018pole position\u2019 , a Michael Schumacher<\/a>-equalling record eight poles at the same circuit. But it wasn\u2019t. Because in Saturday\u2019s sprint qualifying 17-lapper, Verstappen made a better start and won the \u2018race\u2019, so taking \u2018pole\u2019 for Sunday.<\/p>\n

Even Max himself found that odd. \u201cIt sounds a bit funny to hear \u2018You\u2019ve scored pole position\u2019 (his fourth in a row), but we\u2019ll take it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\n \"verstappen\n
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A nod to F1’s past with a wreath for sprint race winner Verstappen<\/p>\n

\n Mark Thompson\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

For the purists, this need to be addressed. The magic of being the fastest man out there in a car with light fuel and fresh tyres, in its ultimate condition, really means something, and always has. As far as stats are concerned, the 2021 British GP pole should belong to Lewis Hamilton, not Max Verstappen. And if you are going to award three world championship points for a 17-lap sprint race, let\u2019s have four points for the real pole position on Friday, that has taken a day to prepare for and achieve. Would it matter that the \u2018pole man\u2019 may not start the main race P1? No.<\/p>\n

Toto Wolff agrees: \u201cPole should be for qualifying, not the sprint race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Which is not to say that Verstappen is an undeserving pole man. He\u2019d topped Friday\u2019s 2.30pm free practice session comfortably but, by the time we got around to Q3 on Friday it was almost 7pm, temperatures had dropped and the Red Bull did not work its softs as well in sector three as it had earlier in the day. The new format put the cars into parc ferm\u00e9 conditions after FP1 and so there was precious little Red Bull could do about it.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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Sebastian Vettel has criticised F1’s new qualifying format and the awarding of pole position to the winner<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t

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\u201cIt\u2019s understeering to the moon!\u201d a frustrated Max complained as he saw his sector three margin pretty much wiped out. Had Hamilton not had a big moment there on his second Q3 run, his pole margin would have been more like three-tenths.<\/p>\n

It had been Hamilton\u2019s turn to decide whether to run first or second in qualifying (the Merc drivers take it in turns), so Valtteri Bottas was not in fact the perennial sacrificial lamb as some claimed, it was simply circumstance. It did appear that way though when, having qualified third, Bottas was sent to the grid on the softs while those around him were on the mediums. Bottas, just 0.12sec down on Verstappen, had actually done a very strong job in qualifying. The word in the paddock, however, is that George Russell will be in his seat in 2022.<\/p>\n

You can\u2019t deny that such elevation will be entirely justified. \u2018Mr Saturday\u2019 as George is dubbed, might have to wait until next year to become \u2018Mr Sunday\u2019 but meanwhile became \u2018Mr Friday\u2019 as well at Silverstone. You would assume that a Hamilton \u2018pole\u2019 produced the biggest Friday cheer, but you\u2019d be wrong. That was reserved for George who, stunningly, was seventh quickest in Q2! He was through to Q3 for the second successive race, where he was eighth and just 0.15sec down on Charles Leclerc\u2019s fourth-placed Ferrari! Just imagine if he\u2019d picked up a tow\u2026<\/p>\n

Fifth, a couple of hundredths behind Leclerc, was a disappointing outcome for Sergio Perez, who had Lando Norris just 0.05sec behind. Team mate Daniel Ricciardo was more like his old self around Silverstone, 10 years on from his F1 debut here with HRT, the Aussie just two-thousandths behind Lando.<\/p>\n

After Russell, Carlos Sainz and Sebastian Vettel completed the Friday top 10.<\/p>\n

\n \"George\n
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Russell was cheered around Silverstone as he set the laptime that saw him start eighth in the sprint race<\/p>\n

\n Michael Regan\/Getty Images\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

2021 British Grand Prix Sprint Qualifying<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When the tyre covers came off for today\u2019s sprint 17-lapper, Bottas apart, the red-walled softs were mounted to the 11th and 13th-placed Alpines of Fernando Alonso, predictably, and Esteban Ocon, plus Kimi Raikkonen\u2019s Alfa Romeo.<\/p>\n

Offer Fernando the chance of a battle and, like Verstappen, he won\u2019t ever pass it up. After a totally spellbinding opening lap where he used his additional grip to go around no fewer than six cars, he crossed the line fifth. When the flag came down after 100kms, he was still seventh, with only the two McLarens able to demote him.<\/p>\n

\n \"Max\n
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No podium in sprint qualifying: a parade truck lap gave all spectators the chance to see the top three<\/p>\n

\n Bryn Lennon\/ F1 via Getty Images\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was 45-50sec of maximum intensity and then a very long race for me\u2026\u201d Alonso said. Fernando had more weaving going on than Blackburn, and drove a very wide Alpine, but got away with a single warning and starts tomorrow four places further up, so his soft tyre gamble was successful. Poor compatriot Carlos Sainz, meanwhile, had opening lap contact with Russell, dropped to 18th and then fought for all he was worth to recover to 11th.<\/p>\n

\n \"alonso\n
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Alonso and Norris thrilled with wheel-to-wheel action<\/p>\n

\n Getty Images\n <\/p>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n

The red-walled softs weren\u2019t a potent enough force on Bottas\u2019s car to allow the Finn to get in among Verstappen\/Hamilton. Max\u2019s start and ability to jump Hamilton gave him the extra point and prime position \u2013 I hesitate to call it pole \u2013 for tomorrow. Today\u2019s sprint race started almost 2.5hrs earlier than yesterday\u2019s Q3 finished, so track temperature was significantly higher and the Red Bull had the legs of the Mercedes. And this was Silverstone, where Mercedes has had nine consecutive poles. Significant.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n

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