Antonelli and Colapinto reveal how sprint weekend make life more challenging for rookie drivers
Amid talks about the possible increase in the number of sprint races, Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli has admitted that sprint format makes life for rookie drivers a bit tougher, considering they will have less time in practice to learn and experiment.
During the 2021 Formula One World Championship, Formula One trialed a "sprint qualifying" system at three Grands Prix—Great Britain, Italy, and São Paulo—in which the grid for the race on Sunday was determined by a 100 km sprint on Saturday.
The sprint weekends have remained in Formula One since the introduction back in 2021. In fact, the number of sprint weekend across a season has risen from three to six, and the rules regarding the schedule and the parc ferme conditions have been amended on multiple occasions, as well.
According to the current rules, Sprint Qualifying takes place on Friday following Free Practice 1, with the Sprint and Grand Prix Qualifying on Saturday, before the weekend culminates with the Grand Prix on Sunday.
Amid talks about the possible increase in the number of sprint races, Mercedes driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli has admitted that sprint format makes life for rookie drivers a bit tougher considering they will have less time in practice to learn and experiment.
"I think yeah. I mean, it obviously depends on the track. If it’s a new track, it’s a bit tougher for rookies because they have to get up to speed — like we had to do in a couple of occasions this year, such as China, Miami, and Austin as well with Sprint.
"So sometimes it’s tough. But if you have the confidence, you’re able to build up into the session and find your rhythm pretty quick. Compared to more experienced drivers, it can be a bit of a disadvantage because you don’t know the detail of the track, where you can make most of the time and where you can lose the most.
"But overall, if you’re able to get up to speed quickly, and especially if you have the confidence, you can still deliver a good result even with one practice.
Alpine driver Franco Colapinto echoed Antonelli's words, albeit he said that he already achieved great results on a sprint weekend when he was restricted to only one practice session.
"I think we are used to two weekends — it's very short, very small amount of laps before quali — and you need to be very quick on top of it. It’s always tricky when you don’t know the track.
"I had that last year. I think Austin and Qatar were Sprints. I didn’t know the track, so it’s tricky, but I still had a good result there in Sprint Quali in Austin. So it’s not — I think if you prep well nowadays, the simulator also helps a lot. So yeah, if you can be on top of it and do a good prep, it really helps. We are used to not having a lot of laps in practice, so it’s not too bad, I think."
