The race weekend in Sao Paulo concluded F1’s bigger providing of dash races over the 2023 season, having expanded from three to 6 for this 12 months. This got here amid a change the place the dash would not have an effect on the total grand prix’s qualifying order, with Saturday performing as a standalone day for the dash qualifying and race occasions.
Nonetheless, reception among the many drivers stays notably tepid, with Max Verstappen vocal about his need for F1 to abandon the sprint experiment and revert to a “regular race weekend”.
This adopted a sprint encounter in Brazil which had moments of intrigue past the highest three amid races for place as tyre degradation started to chunk, however may very well be perceived to have been much less profitable in comparison with its 2021 and 2022 choices.
A shuffle in the order of sessions is expected for 2024, with dash qualifying set to be moved to Fridays, however Perez has prompt that the FIA ought to tinker additional with the format and acknowledged that he would now advocate for a reversed-grid dash race.
“I feel in the event that they need to maintain this format of the dash races, we have to alter it,” Perez replied in response to a query from Autosport about their desired dash weekend tweaks.
“I might suggest a reverse grid, one thing that may make it extra attention-grabbing for the followers as a result of I do not suppose it is working what we need to obtain.
“Nothing actually occurs on this form of races. I feel [a reversed grid] will combine up issues and create extra alternatives, much more overtaking.
Picture by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Sergio Perez, Crimson Bull Racing RB19, George Russell, Mercedes F1 W14, Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes F1 W14, initially
“If we need to maintain this format, [we should] give it a go on one thing fairly totally different, as a result of I feel for the final two years this form of occasion hasn’t introduced plenty of good racing.”
One criticism among the many drivers after the Sao Paulo dash was that the excessive degradation ranges seen within the gentle tyre compelled them into tyre administration from the early phases of the 24-lap race.
Though this made the race not notably pleasurable for these drivers, Lando Norris countered that if everybody had tyres that may very well be pushed on for the entire race, the race would have been even much less eventful.
“You continue to push to the restrict you will have; after all, you are not pushing prefer it’s qualifying, however I do not suppose we ever have in F1,” Norris reckoned.
“However you continue to noticed good racing, apparently, from everybody behind. If everyone seems to be pushing flat out, I might say you virtually most likely see much less overtakes than what you’ll immediately. In that sense, you are most likely asking for a extra boring race, which isn’t what you need.
“I feel what we had immediately is hard, and perhaps not probably the most pleasurable; you do not really feel such as you’re pushing that a lot, however, um, you are still driving on the restrict of the grip you’ve got obtained and all of these issues.
“It is nonetheless a problem for us behind the wheel, I feel it is thrilling for the individuals who get it proper and individuals who do not get it proper. However if you happen to’ve obtained no degradation in any respect, then I would most likely say you are not going to have one overtake for the entire race.”