Our reaction to the Chinese GP Sprint Race

Matt and Tommy dive into a special extra episode of the podcast talking about the early morning Chinese Sprint Race!
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[@TPH250290]

Can't believe we're calling Sainz's final overtake on Alonso "too aggressive". I remember when we started racing in China and that was a perfectly standard move at that corner.

[@abigailcooling6604]

It's racing. Let them race.

[@chiva4life17]

I mean it ruined his race so was it worth it ?

[@louiskendagor3807]

@@chiva4life17 Clearly Alonso overshot turn 9, killing both their time and running Sainz completely off-track. That's what ruined their race

[@TPH250290]

@@chiva4life17 Huh? He only lost one place afterwards to Leclerc. Hardly "race ruining".

[@reina.0_0]

Every time Matt interviews Carlos him and Charles end up fighting each other and almost crashing.

[@siyabulelatshali1012]

😂😂😂😂 Well spotted. 😮😮😮😮

[@YildirimOguzhan]

Sorry is there a second one?

[@reina.0_0]

@@YildirimOguzhan Monza 23 and China 24

[@Umar-gw6fy]

Fighting to be matt’s favourite

[@johnnychimpo7539]

@@reina.0_02 is not enough to prove a positive correlation

[@gavinBsussex]

Max is racing in a different formula at the moment. Openning a gap of 1.3 seconds per lap over 10 laps is scary.

[@driesvanoosten4417]

I think it was a little bit skewed because Lewis was a bit out of position. If Checo, Carlos or Charles would've been behind him, the gap would've been smaller.

[@Martin-di9pp]

@@driesvanoosten4417 Aye, if it weren't for Alonso defending like the champ he is I don't think Hamilton would have made the podium in that Mercedes.

[@KillZoneHart1]

And they're going to have the margin to develop the car concept even further for the final year of the regs next year.

[@Nagi98]

It's not scary, it's ridiculous.

[@2609just]

@@Martin-di9pp yeah, Checo was catching up on Lewis pretty quickly, 2-3 laps more and he would've probably be there

[@rcrude8866]

The Stakes did great this race because they didn't have to deal with pit stops this time around lol.

[@siniister710]

When you don’t lose over a minute a race in the pit it’s amazing what’s possible lol

[@gwgammell]

Absolutely savage

[@robb5270]

@@gwgammellop comment was absolutely captain obvious

[@reina.0_0]

Carlos was a menace to everyone today, it was fun to watch.

[@lofipurple]

True that race was so boring before his move on alonso

[@mohammadnashitsiddiqui2168]

Carlos is like 2019-20 Verstappen these days.. the guy who makes a dominant era exciting

[@charleswilfred6463]

​​​@@mohammadnashitsiddiqui2168 I'm all here for it! The Leclerc fans won't be happy with that tho.

[@jonathannovak2881]

​@@charleswilfred6463 i mean the move in the hairpin did Look intentional if you watch his onboard. He brakes in the middle then goes to the left whil looking in the mirror to see where Charles is, opens up his steering till they touch

[@AbsoleteAim]

​@@charleswilfred6463He managed to get past despite it. Why would anyone be mad?

[@philips6182]

I think the best change for sprint format is the fact teams can change the setup of their cars again after the sprint race so you’re not locked in to the setup you had for the sprint. This means the actual race could turn out a bit different because some cars might have changed their setups

[@4rdF1Hunny]

Like Hamilton 😂 He said they were going to try and find a better set up and he has no clue what he’s doing.

[@robb5270]

Matt way off on this one. Regular race they should award points all the way down the whole field with 20th for finishing 1. Then in sprint they should award pts for half the field…..it’s so dumb a guy can finish an average of 13th all year and another driver average 16th yet the 16th guy can finish ahead in standing with 1 or two great results. Or the 13th guy just finishes 11th or 12th a lot. It’s dumb.

[@clansome]

@@4rdF1Hunny No. The team decided to set his car up one way and George another. That said that qualifying was a horror show. Expect they'll change set up and start him from the Pit lane, from 18th he's not dropping far.

[@4rdF1Hunny]

@@robb5270 this would make for much better racing as every spot would matter, each race.

[@jacob2808]

@@robb5270 As Rosberg said, points should be hard to come by, but they should award more points since reliability is so good now

[@uksmudgesmith]

New sprint format, they race the track on little scooters 🎉

[@zero9EK9]

Or minibikes. Now thats something I would watch

[@martinawouda9767]

No flinstone cars

[@Josh_08Racing]

Not another Hamilton Domination era

[@Umar-gw6fy]

Go karts

[@Cl0ckcl0ck]

12 laps, 1st,3rd,5th ... 19th all get 2 points. Except 11th place which gets 4 points. That's something different.

[@thecompanioncube4211]

Time and time again, lando proves he buckles under pressure.

[@gameofender4463]

He’s a good driver but it’s clear that he’s got more to do to prove he’s equal George and Charles.

[@keschbo]

​@@gameofender4463 honestly all three of them have a mistake in high pressure situations in them. So it's hard to judge how the cars compare, especially between Lando and Charles.

[@SkiingIsBelieving859]

@@gameofender4463idk what george or charles have done to prove they’re better other than usually having better cars

[@gameofender4463]

@@keschboExcept George and Charles have shown they can get the job done.

[@gameofender4463]

@@SkiingIsBelieving859 defeat a world champion teammate over a season, win a race, have great recovery drives. Take your pick.

[@TheEventAcademy]

Ocon should have clearly gotten a 5s penalty for the Carlos & Charles incident.

[@jdbb3gotskills]

Incompetent race directors as always

[@panicbuyflax3461]

Here, here!

[@MartinTheBear]

Hope he gets a 5 year penalty

[@joshuaaustin5647]

This format of the sprints is much better than last year’s format.

[@mohammadfarzand4839]

I dont think so . I think this makes it even more irrelevant as people will have more focus on quali for the race so they would try to be less aggressive in sprint to not incur any big damage what they could do is have quali before sprint that would atleast give driver mor impetus

[@greydiesel]

not when it’s at 4 in the morning, come on you can’t start it even 2 hours later

[@joshuaaustin5647]

@@greydiesel Stop being so Eurocentric. 😅

[@Linc1986]

I think a sprint race with just the reserve drivers in a 3rd car would be interesting. I know they would never do this, but it would give the main drivers a break and the points would still go to the constructors championship.

[@csl750]

I'd watch that... like the idea

[@driesvanoosten4417]

That's actually a pretty brilliant idea. It should be somewhat of a junior driver I would say.

[@Morganox09]

Sounds like a great idea until the first reserve driver wrecks the car and they cant repair it in time. Maybe an additional chassis and a higher budget to commodate that would help

[@Ceece20]

And it would force teams like Williams TO MAKE A SPARE CHASSIS. Idc how many times you say they took a risk, they’ve literally been in F1 for decades and should know what to expect.

[@lukew6725]

That would be great but Williams can hardly put two cars on the track, let alone three. 😆

[@DaveMcKeegan]

I think they should try: Friday- FP1 + Reverse championship sprint Saturday- FP2 + Quali Sunday- Race

[@impatience4450]

This! Reverse championship sprint with no sprint quali would make things SO much more interesting! Could the Alpines/Williams/Stakes hold up EVERYONE else for 19laps to get points? So much excitement would be had!

[@ehrlichgesagt863]

Nobody should ever have a penalty because they are leading the championship. Reversed grid is all fun when overtaking is easy but why should lando and Piastri for example start p14 and p15 and then probably not be able to overtake and gift points to Haas and Williams? It would destroy the worth of a point and every small team would just prepare for the sprints.

[@ravinderdasila9334]

P1, quali P2, reverse grid sprint Race

[@feisaljauharitufail]

​@ehrlichgesagt863 , I agree. Why should they be punished for being good at something?

[@Nelson-rw2yd]

Friday: FP1, single 30 minute sprint quali, sprint race Saturday: FP2, quali Sunday: race

[@ExodiaNecross2]

Lando is todays version or jarno trulli just bottles it & cracks everytime & doesn't know when too back out. Lewis was always going to run him out wide

[@yannickvaz694]

Ironically, Lando is a driver that knows when to back off. The one time he actually could do it, he tried to fight unnecessarily hard.

[@billmankin6204]

For me biggest plus from the new format is removing Parc Ferme after the sprint.

[@voongnz]

Yep, this makes sprint a race pace data collection session, and I'd watch this anytime over an FP3.

[@jjknick1]

Sprint quali should be 1 shot, 1 lap, 1 chance to set a time - short and sweet

[@famingo4363]

That would be a grave mistake. Track evolution makes it unfair for some drivers even under dry conditions

[@nathanielkhoom6043]

Yeah, but send the RB's out first.....

[@laurenmp7486]

If Max could do what he did in the spring, if he qualifies on the pole for the main race, he's going to lap at least a couple cars that finish in the points.

[@k.2754]

No, he had the 12s because of the very slow race pace from Lewis. Alonso is the only reason Lewis is on the podium and Checo and the Ferraris couldn´t catch up.

[@joostprins3381]

@@k.2754but do you even think Max was driving to the max? He was just waiting till the other tires dropt of, then he thought it was enough and took over, closed the gap to Lewis and Lewis being smart didn’t battle him because it was ever a lost cause, then Max cruised in the distance, doing 13 secs in 10 laps. Sorry but he could have been 30 secs in front.

[@kityhawk2000]

The gap probably won't be that much more because it doesn't matter if he has a massive gap or not the points will still be the same. Once it gets to an amount RB have agreed they will probably just be coasting

[@abigailcooling6604]

Nah, he'll probably just get to the front, pull a 15 sec buffer, then just turn the engine down and coast to the end. He won't be pushing cos going fast damages the tyres, gearbox, engine etc.

[@henriquedaumas9934]

​@@k.2754alonso was consistenly behind lewis and trying to earn precious points for AM at 3rd. Good for lewis keeping him at bay, that was always gonna be the only battle at the top unfortunately

[@NSELEVEN]

Basically just watch for p2 and p3 ,p1 is reserved for max now

[@NnamdiNw]

Now?

[@Weezy10580]

Cope

[@danielainger8666]

Been like that since 22 where have you been

[@tharealmb]

@@danielainger8666not the start of 2022😅 only after Merc wanted higher ride height for all to fix their bouncing. 😂

[@NSELEVEN]

Mate I've been watching every race since the start of 2017 wut do u mean 😂

[@sanxi34]

The problem with F1 sprint compared to other categories that have sprint races such as MotoGP or WorldSBK is that the field in those other categories are so tight, that the grid and race result is different between the Sprint and the proper race. While in F1 you cannot get that done because in 19 laps Max has finished 12 seconds ahead. How in the world will that give you a different result? Unless the weather conditions change between sessions, the Sprint at this moment it is a wash. As Tommy says, it's a spoiler for the race. Not like in WorldSBK where there could be three different winners and potentially 9 different podium sitters

[@k.2754]

12s only because the other 4 cars behind Lewis had a fight, so they couldn´t catch up. The pace from Lewis was very slow...

[@siniister710]

@@k.2754agreed, on the other hand if max started on the pole he might’ve won by 30

[@thetraveldrunk]

Deaths, taxes and Lando Norris bottling it.

[@DWestheim]

Death and taxes hurt less, though -.-

[@gthakur17]

I knew max would not allow anyone else to win, but still supported lando

[@jakem5039]

The British Leclerc

[@OnurP1]

@@jakem5039 Leclerc actually won multiple races.

[@donaldfarquar]

Really like Lando and would love to see him a world champion (preferably not in a McLaren) but its hard to argue there isn't a pattern whenever he has a chance to win.

[@knutpohl339]

What Tommy is saying about the sprint format is basically "I hate sprint weekends. ... And mornings."

[@magb8632]

Yeah i really don't get it

[@megalamanooblol]

If next year F1 changes Sprints to be like Tommy said, que him complaining about it being "Too gimmicky, this is not a sport, this is manufactured entertainment blah blah blah". He just turned into old crusty fan that cannot accept change and just wants weekend to stay exactly the same as it was with no sprints, forever. Tommy accept it old man, the future is now, sprint is here to stay.

[@janssmidt4136]

looks like loyalty to max opinion

[@chaddy9044]

I hate it when people complain about the Sprint with the FIA clearly trying. They changed it like 3 times, but Tommy himself does not come up with a version that he likes or wants to see. He just says yeah I don't like it😂

[@madskristiansen5049]

@@janssmidt4136 but since Max thinks that too, does that also make him old and crusty?

[@Schadows77]

I think the MotoGP sprint format, with only 1 qualification session which decide the starting position for both races, is better.

[@CM303898]

The unavoidable reality of sprint races is that the drivers and teams don’t really want to take risks because damage repair costs come out of the budget (which is capped), but also big damage can make your car unavailable for REAL qualifying - which would have serious championship complications - but also, serious accidents risk damaging the limited components. Fans didn’t like it is you moved the Grand Prix qualifying to Friday to avoid Sprint incidents affecting the Grand Prix qualifying. Fans, Drivers, and Teams won’t like if Qualifying is on Saturday afternoon and is affected by the Sprint Race. You almost need the Sprint to occur on Friday to reduce jeopardy, but then no one will watch it because people will be working. Realistically, if it’s the Sprint that doesn’t matter; the Sprint should occur after the Grand Prix, but that would make it on Monday, so who would watch? If you just shuffled the Grand Prix forward, too many fans would express their dislike for giving the Sprint prime place. There is no way to appease everyone. Using this weekends’ format, if the Sprints were reverse grids, there could be massive consequences for overtakes by faster cars coming through the grid. You almost need bespoke second cars for each driver for Sprint race weekends, so they can race the entire Sprint championship without fear that they will influence the WDC. That then introduces more cost and freight, which means more carbon emissions, which is counter to the goals of sustainability. Yaddah, yaddah, yaddah. It’s such a hard nut to crack, but it provides some entertainment. Perhaps they should allow the second cars for the Sprint Championship. 1 PU, 1 gearbox, 1 turbo, 1 MGU, 1 everything for the entire sprint championship; use extra and you take a penalty at the next Sprint race. This way they can try reverse grids and other formats without risk that it will influence the World Championship. Keep the points separate from the World Championship. Don’t allow those chassis’, components, etc, from the Sprint Championship, to be used on the World Championship cars. Such a delineation between the two championships could allow scenarios like out of 6 Sprint races, no driver can race more than 3 Sprint races, which could open up the Sprint format to reserve/junior formula/other motor racing series drivers, to drive 3 Sprint races. No driver would “own” the PU/gearbox/etc, (E.g. one sprint Max gets Car A, and Checo gets Car B, and the next Sprint Max might get Car B, and Checo car A). This means that there would be 4 different combinations of driver pairings by any one team, meaning that across any Sprint championship there’d be a fairly low chance of any two races having identical grid lineups. It also means teams can see non-championship drivers in F1 machinery to see their race craft and skill. It could start putting the pressure on teams to bring in thirsty young drivers at a cost of older, more experienced drivers who can setup and develop cars. Who knows, but the Sprint race format using World Championship machinery is a risk many teams and drivers don’t want to entertain further risk with.

[@youtubehandle102]

Tldr

[@michaelgideon8944]

I like your idea of the 3 out of 6 limit. That would give some of the F2 guys doing commentary with Will Buxton a chance to drive. The sprint made sense when it was qualifying for the main event. Since we moved from that it struggles for relevance. Maybe making it F1.5 would be interesting.

[@Trendyflute]

I think, reading your post, you make a good case that they should stop bothering. It seems at this point that the main form of entertainment the Sprint format brings is armchair warriors like all of us coming up with 100 different format ideas to improve it and never agreeing.

[@ericokurowski]

Did you even watch the Spint race? They don’t risk? I guess you missed all the wheel to wheel battles that occurred yesterday? We had drivers scrapping over 12th place in the sprint last year, when neither driver had a shot at points.

[@jamestaylor6524]

Sprints should be done on tracks with multiple layouts. Bahrain for example should be a sprint. Sprint Q and Race around the outer Bahrain short loop. And then race around the normal GP circuit. Enough tracks have multiple layouts to have this and it doesn't spoil the race as the layouts can really benefit different cars. Then because the layouts are different and the competition is different up the points to 2/3rds of GP points.

[@Becky_Cooling]

That would be good, Paul Ricard would have a field day trying to get back on the calendar for that!

[@coasternut3091]

I want them to do what the drivers suggested: No sprint quali, just put it in reverse points order and have 15ish laps instead. As far as Carlos' aggression, any racing driver who doesn't go for every opportunity to win doesn't belong in a seat. Love watching him race

[@LiftandCoa]

F1 discourse changed when twitter decided aggressiv means bad

[@lucasmccoy745]

I really expected after lap 5 for this to be a boring DRS train race, but the Alonso, Sainz, Perez, and Leclerc fight was so much fun to watch. I really wish Alonso didn't get the puncture because that was a bit heartbreaking. I saw that he wasn't in the fight anymore after the last corner and thought he wrecked or something, but then they showed him in the pits. All that being said, I'm really starting to doubt Lando as a race winner. I feel like he's had so many chances and each time something happens, sometimes it's not his fault, sometimes it is. I still think he's a great driver, but I'm really starting to wonder if he is going to ever win a race. Before I was asking myself when he would win one. I think the only way McLaren does well in the race is if it rains. We are still too slow on the straights even with DRS when the drivers in front of us don't have it.

[@aneeshmenon3379]

Alonso pushed sainz off the track & gifted perez that position. He would have been penalized if not for puncture. Sainz pushed leclerc off to

[@Martin-di9pp]

I fear Lando is too nice on the track.

[@sampson4886]

He got lewised to be completely fair

[@ehrlichgesagt863]

Ye i think lando knows they are way to slow on the straight at the end Perez and Sainz in a fast Ferrari and Redbull couldnt overtake Alonso on that straight, why would they do it in a mclaren that struggled in Saudi so much with overtaking

[@AllenKey19]

Totally agree with you about Lando, this was the moment when I nearly threw something at the TV in frustration, tbh it just shows that no matter how many opportunities he gets, there will always be 'something.' Whether it's pressure from having gone so long without a win, he just loses his mind when he's got a chance

[@InsertYourself1]

I don't think Tommy is understanding that all overtaking is done on track and not through pit stops and tire lifes are the same rather than having a tire delta unless drivers start on used tires

[@davidhaworth7152]

All tyre life’s are the same? You may want to rethink that one.

[@StraightGamesta]

China is notorious for literally painting their grass, weeds, and even dirt green so that from a distance or on camera it looks like their country is less polluted and filthy then it is. Refer to YT video China is painting mountains green for more info since I understand it sounds insane! I believe the paint is why the grass is so flammable despite the rain before and during sessions...

[@thecompanioncube4211]

Fakery is ingrained there

[@calvinchan8511]

Yup, I remember during the Beijing Olympics they sprayed the yellowing grass green with paint.

[@MissMarquise]

"Made in China"

[@thecompanioncube4211]

What can we expect

[@karla.karla.]

Like half an hour ago, I was admiring the grass around the track thinking to myself "how is it so green, it looks so nice". I feel catfished now.

[@gs7087]

Love the show. Terrific commentary.

[@filipposstavro1233]

👏DITCH 👏THE 👏SPRINT 👏

[@themok3rify]

I like the fact the teams can still change their cars after the sprint race.

[@nicksantos7586]

i'm entertained with the format for this weekend !

[@KailamiMwiinga]

I think this format is the probably the best way to go about it... The only reason why the Sprint isn't "exciting" is because one car is very far ahead. Had this been in 05 - 08, it would be very exciting.. The one thing they can add is make sure to bring the softest tyres...

[@indochinaconnex4308]

Spot on Tommy. Tommy is a OG fan

[@evandrochaves9596]

I'm loving 2024 Tommy, he is speaking his mind way more

[@ed32568]

Good morning lads! Thanks for helping keep me up until quali :)

[@Subaraki]

Hey Matt and Tommy, keep up the great work, i really enjoy watching you guys for years now! Sprint format: No qualifying, have an FP session instead, reverse championship standing grid start, keep points as it is! Cheers!

[@MichaelvanderGalien]

I'm apparently one of the few, but I truly enjoy these sprint weekends! The order is correct, and it's just awesome to see them race even more. They're sprinting hard, they're taking risks, they all fight knowing that every point can matter for their team's results in the championship at the end of the season. The only 'but' is that those sprint races should have more points to divide between drivers. We have a couple of teams that dictate what happens in race. Give the other teams the opportunity to take some points too.

[@mewatchingthings]

4:34 Yeah, these sprints would be so much fun if a point here or there was swapping the lead of the championship and the performance difference was tighter.

[@CarimboHanky]

zhou social credit going -999 after his first 40 second pit stop tomorrow 😂

[@colezimmerman573]

I really enjoyed the first iteration of the sprint race, where they qualified for the sprint and then where they finished in the sprint is where they started in the main race. It gives the sprint a purpose and helps bring more racing, entertainment, and points to the sport

[@TomFrench1]

My idea options for exciting sprint: - Each team has one car out at a time and they have to swap half way through - Handicap race - based on results from last GP faster cars get a weight handicap - done with a special tire compound which recreates being on a wet track - reverse grid & last car has to drop out each lap

[@br117p7]

Yooo the driver swap sounds awesome

[@TangoNevada]

My worst flaw with the sprint race is it just allows the best car/driver to gain more points, earlier. Leading to an end to the WDC sooner than normal. Add to that, one day a WDC Championship will be decided during a Sprint race and not a Grand Prix. How anti climatic will that be?

[@mohammadnashitsiddiqui2168]

Already happened last year in Qatar

[@frankhuurman3955]

@@mohammadnashitsiddiqui2168 yup and that was quite anti-climatic indeed. I don't know where I stand anymore with the sprint races, I like that it adds something extra for the friday & saturday but also agree with the WDC wrapping up sooner being a bad thing.

[@TangoNevada]

@@frankhuurman3955 At this point it should be a separate Championship. That being said, the same driver would win both. So it's kind of pointless, but at the same time more entertaining than a FP2 or FP3. It should just be kept separate from the WDC.

[@maltwhiskey1424]

100% agree with Matt about current Sprint layout

[@WrightlyDivided]

What a incredible race man. Wow

[@frostijjj]

My ideal format: Friday - 2 Practice Sessions Saturday - Quali (Q1 Hard, Q2 Medium, Q3 Soft) Sprint (Top 10 Reverse Grid) Sunday - Race (Every team has to use all 3 Compounds) (Yes it's very tire heavy)

[@eliaminator2313]

disappointing for Lando but I'd rather he do that in a sprint and take that chance than if it was an actual race with big pts on the line

[@Apollocoaus]

Aussie here I just spent a few on going to the race this year. Had an unbelievable weekend. Loved it. If you tempted me with a sprint weekend… I’d spend thousands more tbh.

[@michaelschablon6148]

On the topic of the sprint race, I've always loved the Top Ten Shootout we have in the Supercars at Bathurst here in Australia. It where the 10 fastest cars from Friday's qualifying session progress to Saturday's all-important Top 10 Shootout. The top 10 cars go out in reverse order, one by one, with a free track, to each complete one flying lap of Mount Panorama. This then sets the final starting order for Sunday's race. Points could be awarded if you wanted to make it more important

[@tusharr6703]

I have a solution for Tommy's problem,keep 2 practice sessions on the Friday and Saturday the 1st session should be common qualifying, which sets the grid for the Sunday's race as well as the grid for the sprint during the 2nd session of the Saturday (for sprint,they should reverse the qualifying results and host a reverse grid race with the same point classification as of now)

[@TheNavieus]

That's . ... Actually a great idea

[@Thomashughes111]

I overslept LOL

[@pooledogg775]

P1 10 points, P2 9.5 all the way down to P20 0.5pts for the sprint. Means every place means a half point bump. Then there is racing though the field.

[@donaldfarquar]

Really thought Lando was going to do something today but he got his usual nosebleed when there's a chance to win. Reverse championship order might be interesting for the sprints, but my worry is it would then leak into the main races.

[@kdm6287]

Agree about the sprint, this race was an improvement but, I agree with Tommy, if the sprint is going to happen in a weekend it should be after qualy with the fastest cars starting at the back.

[@migolmigol4874]

My heart can't handle this Lando!

[@gameofender4463]

Best to not expect it from him and then be surprised if/when he does win a race.

[@drazennenadic2149]

I love this sprint format. The teams get a practice quilifying and a practice race before they lock in setups for the race with parc ferme. So they should be best setup for a good result in the race

[@lmr4403]

I like that after sprint the cars are out of parc fermé, so it is at the very least more exciting fp2/3 this way.

[@dhruvhotwani]

FP1 > FP2 > Quali > Sprint (reverse the grid on basis of Quali) > Race (actual quali grid) This would be a fun and practical approach towards a weekend, balancing the sport and entertainment factors.

[@hakshustletv]

basically punish winning...

[@dhruvhotwani]

@@hakshustletv how is it punishing winning? The quali grid order is passed pm to the race and the sprint is fun and gives something to lower teams to grab. It’s a win win for the whole grid.

[@AliHasan-je7zw]

Best solution I’ve seen cuz you’re actually trying to qualify for the actual race, it just happens to take those same results and flip them for sprint so teams won’t be too gimmicky cuz it could hurt them on Sunday

[@hakshustletv]

@@dhruvhotwani It's basically saying if you win too much we're going to start you at the back of the grid in sprints where there are still points on the line... The whole grid shouldn't win, only the best that are investing in their cars, team and drivers and executing at a high level. It's basically participation trophies but still punishing the teams that do everything right.

[@hakshustletv]

@@AliHasan-je7zw It's completely gimmicky when you give out participation trophies and punish the best teams for excelling in the sport by placing them at the back of the grid for doing great... Points are still up for grab on sprint weekends, people only think it's no big deal because Max is so dominant so they don't realise others are still competing.

[@arkangelarkangel1302]

I loved the ... go eat a big bag of balls move CHECO DID ON THE EURO BUNCH 😂😂😂😅😅😅😮😂😂😂😅

[@HerrStaale]

That was a fun race to watch

[@diederikjournee5580]

Hey Tommy and Matt, maybe a bit pathetic to say, but your posts brings a smile on my face. Everytime I feel a bit down I look at your posts and that changes my mood from 1st minute on. Your combination is rather unique. Please keep up the good work for many years.

[@ishsahni8160]

This race was amazing, lots of fun in the top 5-6 today especially between the ferraris

[@Amm17ar]

I personally loved the set up. Kinda gave me something to look forward to and see some great racing before the actual race. Id actually argue we probably get better short term racin in Sprints than we do in the races. Its a shorter distance, you dont lose a bunch of points by taking changes and lunges, everyone's on softer compounds and everyone feels like if they can get a points spot, due to the shorter race distance, they'll stand a better chance of holding that point(s). Also, this might be a bit recency bias heavy, but I loved the Sprint quali. Ive loved it since they introduced it. Its just something a bit new, but not too out there and gives us some decent running, different runplans and a bit of pressure as the track improves which forces some crucial mistakes. Again a bit biased, cuz the rain made it so much more entertaining. I also enjoy the fact that the Sprint portion of the weekend is done and now we move onto the race. Versus the Sprint being intertwined with the race weekend. I personally thought Sprints peaked when they were essentially a qualifying race, but I still really enjoy the current format. Sprint weekends are always a bit more exciting and we get more "competitive" running on those weekends which is always a plus. Rare win for me for F1, even if it was just a precursor to Max winning by 1 minute tomorrow. 1.3 seconds a lap just sounds insanely broken.

[@robertnowac8094]

What a lovely gift Carlos and Fernando gave to Sergio.

[@graemewilliams6697]

Have the 2 hours of practice on Friday. Saturday morning qualifying and in the afternoon a reverse grid, based on Q1 rankings - NO DRS. Sunday normal race day, and they have to use all three tyre compounds in a dry race

[@nealsidhu2697]

This should be the sprint weekend format... Friday: FP1 + Qualifying Saturday: FP2 + Sprint(reverse standings grid) Sunday: Race

[@alexhndr]

Friday: FP1 through FP3 Saturday: Quali for Race + Sprint (Reverse Grid from the last race results) Sunday: Race

[@rosgoncharuk2403]

Sprint - reverse championship order! On Friday w/o Sprint quali.

[@edgould5190]

To make the sprint truly different one thing I could think to do is at many tracks theres many alternative layouts so the could potentially race a shorter version of a track as it wouldnt spoil the main race and would be new for the drivers.

[@Freefall984]

Lando is the Arsenal of F1, always bottles it

[@dr0buds]

This sprint was good because it rained in quali yesterday. The meant the order was mixed up for the race allowing drivers that don't normally interact to race each other. If they must have a sprint format, they should hose down the track such that it is full wet conditions for the duration. This would allow drivers to demonstrate their wet driving skills while also all but guaranteeing a banger of a sprint. People have been wanting this kind of a thing since the 90s, I don't understand why the FIA won't just do it already.

[@itsConflan]

f1 wet tyres move over 100 liters of surface water per second, there would be a dry line in 2 laps and then back to square 1

[@dr0buds]

@@itsConflan You maintain the wetness of the track by continually spraying throughout the race.

[@Bolero6879]

@@dr0budsThey would never do that because of pushback on “wasting water”

[@Trendyflute]

Unless it's cooler/overcast/humid conditions that are consistent with natural rain, the amount of water it takes to keep the track wet is ridiculous. In bright sun and warm weather it's effectively impossible.

[@dr0buds]

@@Trendyflute That's a good point, fair enough.

[@jo_king89]

Haven't seen any comment about it yet, but that close call of Alonso coming around the last turn 😮

[@BradyDearinger]

Friday- two practice sessions. Saturday- qualifying for Sunday then a reverse order sprint race. Sunday- business as usual.

[@itsConflan]

sprint quali should be one shot qualifing, with the order done by the teams championship position. So redbull out first but thery can decide which driver to send in what order. The track ramp up over the session might help level the field without the gimick of reverse grid leading to teams sandbagging but also if rain is on the way the top teams still get to run. And having the teams decide driver order adds so of the sts drama the some people love and also get a chance for the crowd to watch each driver and see the differences of their laps. and to tommys point it would make the sprint format something different from just a mini race weekend

[@rupertmiller4718]

No one will be criticising Lando more than he will be himself for this. Once he has his first win, the rest will come much more easily. The biggest criticism though must be his loyalty no matter how admirable, to McLaren. The team still have technical problems, the departure of David Sanchez after mere weeks in the job following a year gardening leave from Ferrari must suggest problems with technical decision making. If Lando was in a scarlet car, he would already have his first bunch of wins. Probably also in a Mercedes and definitely in a Red Bull. Both McLaren drivers are extremely talented but have to overdrive the car in a way Max doesn’t have to and the certainly Sainz doesn’t have to.

[@johnakos23]

This is the best sprint format. Friday fp1 and sprint qualy. Saturday fp2 and sprint which determines positions for sunday with parc ferme before the sprint starts because it'll act as qualy for the race. Sunday race. Keeps the sprint relevant and you have three days full of action to sell more tickets.

[@Chongo_657]

Reverse grid for the sprint race based on driver standings (no sprint races until 5th race at earliest). Then result of the sprint race (saturday) is the grid for the grand prix on sunday. Friday is just 3hrs of practice. You'll defn get on-track overtakes a'plenty.

[@cobhc182]

I feel they had it right originally. Qualifying, Sprint, Sprint result forms the race grid. Should never had tweaked it from that.

[@HikarusVibrator]

No this corrupts what F1 is and it also makes the race even less competitive

[@cobhc182]

@@HikarusVibrator At least it made it carry some actual weight. Currently, it seems so pointless.

[@HikarusVibrator]

@@cobhc182 it wasn’t POINTless, literally.

[@gameofender4463]

Lando is a very good driver. But he’s got a way to go to prove he should be in the WDC level discussion with George and Charles.

[@greenfj1466]

I think George should stop crashing first to prove he is better than Lando,Lando just gave up few positions but george gives up his entire race

[@mohammadnashitsiddiqui2168]

George and Charles are so good but they make big mistakes in a single race that sends them down the ladder

[@greenfj1466]

@@mohammadnashitsiddiqui2168 Charles recently has been very consistent apart from the last 2 quali but george on the other hand has not been that great

[@danielainger8666]

Even George & Charles have a way to go before they are in the WDC discussion all 3 are nowhere near as good as people hype them up to be.

[@gameofender4463]

@@greenfj1466 At least George had shown he can actually WIN a race.

[@jonathanfrancis7807]

Agree with Tommy. One quali on Friday, reverse grid sprint Saturday, race on Sunday. 4 a year.

[@jackson.2171]

We need to do Sprint races around shortened track layouts lol

[@KRD1029]

What I think the Sprint Format should be: Friday - Practice 1 & 2 (Like normal) Saturday - Normal Qualifying (In the Morning) then in the afternoon it’s the sprint race and they reverse the results from qualifying Sunday - The main race using Saturdays Morning Qualifying results

[@8tonystark8]

No complete reverse order but 20 1 19 2 18 3 etc...

[@KRD1029]

@@8tonystark8 I think if the Redbull wasn’t so far ahead that would be good but with the current pace I think the full would be better

[@CDNChaoZ]

The Sprint race should be a slightly different track configuration. Hell, run it in reverse if they can.

[@GamerSloth-ik8hl]

Race in reverse gear - no one gets aero advantage

[@aneeshmenon3379]

Reverse isn't safe. I think they should have different tyres

[@patricktho6546]

The issue with reverse is, that no track is certified for that direction and you would have to move the barriers at least. Otherwise it would be just a smaller track, since most alternative versions are just shortcuts for slower/smaller vehicles or similarly variations of chicanes.

[@turbo_brian]

​@@patricktho6546not a terrible thing, shorter race, shorter laps. If you keep the overtake opportunities aka the main straight then you're increasing the total number of opportunities in the sprint.

[@benglishman]

I don't like sprint weekends either, Tommy. Solidarity 🙏

[@hijlkecornelisboorsma1058]

4 minutes in i have the best idea, have sprint weekends on tracks where they use the 3 hardest compounds. use the 3 softer compounts for the sprintrace en force a pittstop

[@djalz2]

Matt is right, the sprint adds nothing when you know who the winner will be

[@swatitrivedi6039]

And you don’t in the race 😂?

[@DanielRothkopf]

I will never get bored of Max's dominance. We are witnessing greatness here. Nothing but appreciation and the hope for 30sec leads the rest of the season.

[@georgemaraslis8558]

We are witnessing Newey’s brilliance here i agree. 1.3 seconds a lap faster than the second car is so insane congrats Newey you nailed it.

[@deplant9902]

@@georgemaraslis8558don’t be like this man:)

[@madmanf1179]

Would you of said this if it was during Schumacher, Vettel or Hamilton’s era of dominance?

[@georgemaraslis8558]

@@madmanf1179 Vettel for sure we all saw how average he was on bad machinery on Ferrari. Hamilton did perform on some cars that were not competitive as well as Schumacher. Max needed a car that was the Fastest in order to win a wdc. Don’t compare me drivers that had competition with Verstappen that had only one wdc battle and called the FIA president so he can steal it.

[@TheSlowoldman]

@@georgemaraslis8558 Checo gets beat consistently Max doesn't...... one day you'll realize that the difference is Verstappen. Newey is a genius, Max is a generational talent.

[@jjfreer]

lets have one shot quali for sprint races. i miss the jeopardy of you got one lap to nail it.

[@benoitsauriol3140]

It was fun to watch, but I agree it's just a mini race before the race. To make it really feel different, they could run it in the opposite direction and change the point system to make it more important.

[@Alucard-gt1zf]

You can't just change the direction of a track......

[@Battleship61234]

"Narrative now over Lando...", this has been YEARS at this point. The only thing he consistently proves when running in P1 is he can't contain the pressure. Also he didn't really defend from Hamilton at Sochi. Hamilton was 5+ seconds away for the majority of the race, once he was close, it was over. I do agree McLaren was also at fault for Sochi as well, but Lando isn't off the hook for that one either.

[@JaydonNgoh]

13 seconds ago is crazy

[@markhuang8425]

As a Shanghai native who aren't able to buy tickets as Sat and Sun's tickets are sold out day one, being able to buy Friday's tickets are the only via option to me, and being able to watch the sprint quali is such a blessing to me. Big W for the new format.

[@-._.-._.-Sully-._.-._.-]

They should have sprints at tracks that have multiple layout and use different, probably shorter, track layouts for the sprints. That and have special sprint tires that are only used during the sprint. Bring back the purple super softs for sprint qualifying and make some new ones with a green sidewall for the sprint race.

[@leotimtom6637]

Max qualifies P1, Hamilton P18. It can`t get better than that! Yesss!

[@fillusrahim-xy9ib]

It's like looking into the crystal ball Lando gets the WIN-GASM ADD

[@ACatKrom]

Sprint start is the reverse of prior weeks finish.

[@roelofliebenberg2880]

I feel for Lando, he should have learned from Perez (Mexico) last year. Agree he should have been patient, tucked in behind Hamilton which would have been a very different result.

[@harolddubois7735]

I personally really like the sprint because different teams would have to try different setups to prepare for the race. but this might be a crazy idea but what if we raced the sprint in the opposite direction of the track. I'm not sure how this will work but imagine the last turn becoming the first turn on a race and driving the track in the opposite direction!

[@Kaneinja]

The best part of the sprint race now is that you can change setup after.

[@TheAgent0097]

I think the best Way to do the sprint weekend is to have: Friday: FP1>Reverse Grid Sprint Saturday:FP2>Qualifying Sunday:Gran Prix Makes it a great opportunity for the bottom team to fight and get crucial constructors points and encourage top team to just use it as an extra Free practice

[@TomP-148]

Alonso's car seemed to have insane acceleration between the corner

[@nomar5spaulding]

I just want to know Mat's reaction to Tommy using a screen shot of Mat's reaction during Sprint Quali, and then that turning into a fitting reaction from Mat to Charles going off.