Formula 1 sports director Ross Brawn says after the first sprint qualifying of the premier class: “We have learned two things – the fans like the format, and a racer is and will remain a racer.”
On Saturday evening, a satisfied Ross Brawn made his way to his hotel. The Formula 1 sports director is the biggest advocate of the new sprint qualifying, now we have tried the new format at Silverstone, and the long-time team manager of Ferrari and Mercedes-Benz thinks – the sprint qualifying has passed!
The Englishman says: “I think we learned two things today – the fans like the format, and a racer is and remains a racer. It was always clear to me: When the start light goes out, we will not experience tactics, but attacks. We saw action everywhere, in the front, in the midfield, in the back. The first round alone was a show, simply inspiring. And we had interesting duels throughout the sprint. “
«Fernando Alonso’s performance was sensational. For me, his first lap was the highlight of the whole sprint. For something like that alone I would buy a ticket. “
«We can really be satisfied. Now we will let the dust settle a little and then, together with the FIA and the teams, see how we can make this format even better. We won’t change anything fundamentally about it in 2022, but after three editions of the Sprint we will certainly fine-tune one or the other end. “
A sprint will be driven again in Monza, then – if Formula 1 can drive in Texas – in Austin.
Ross Brawn continues: “We already have an idea of where we want to pull the lever. I don’t want to go into details. But I know: We can do even better. “
“We have already received massive feedback from fans all over the social networks, and the vast majority of it is positive. But there are also parts that are either not easy to understand or not appreciated. We will read all of this carefully and take it into account. “
“I think the new format doesn’t take away from the glamor of a Grand Prix, maybe it offers added value. But again: we’ll take a look at all of this later. For example, I really liked our approach to tires: only soft tires in qualifying, which dictates the sequence for the sprint, then free choice of tires for the Grand Prix. That seems like a good way to go. “
From GP aces like Nico Rosberg, Sebastian Vettel and Max Verstappen complained: The pole does not go to the fastest man in qualifying, but to the winner of the sprint. Ross Brawn: “We have to talk about that again. We are quite open to changes there. I always think: we have to honor history, but we mustn’t let history stop us either. “
Sprint-Qualifying Silverstone
01. Max Verstappen (NL), Red Bull Racing RB16B-Honda
02. Lewis Hamilton (GB), Mercedes W12, +1,430
03. Valtteri Bottas (FIN), Mercedes W12, +7,5
04. Charles Leclerc (MC), Ferrari SF21, +11.2
05. Lando Norris (GB), McLaren MCL35M-Mercedes, +24.1
06. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS), McLaren MCL35M-Mercedes, +30.9
07. Fernando Alonso (E), Alpine A521-Renault, +43,5
08. Sebastian Vettel (D), Aston Martin AMR21-Mercedes, +44,4
09. George Russell (GB), Williams FW43B-Mercedes, +46,6
10. Esteban Ocon (F), Alpine A521-Renault, +47,3
11. Carlos Sainz (E), Ferrari SF21, +47,7
12. Pierre Gasly (F), AlphaTauri AT02-Honda, +48,7
13. Kimi Räikkönen (FIN), Alfa Romeo C41-Ferrari, +50.6
14. Lance Stroll (CDN), Aston Martin AMR21-Mercedes, +52,1
15. Antonio Giovinazzi (I), Alfa Romeo C41-Ferrari, +53.2
16. Yuki Tsotaka (J), AlphaTauri AT02-Honda, +53,5
17. Nicholas Latifi (CDN), Williams FW43B-Mercedes, +55,1
18. Mick Schumacher (D), Haas VF-21-Ferrari, +68,2
19. Nikita Mazepin (RUS), Haas VF-21-Ferrari, +77,6
20. Sergio Pérez (MEX), Red Bull Racing RB16B-Honda, 1 lap back
World Championship stand after 9 of 23 races
driver
1. Verstappen 185 Punkte
2. Hamilton 152
3. Pérez 104
4. Norris 101
5. Bottas 93
6. Leclerc 62
7. Sainz 60
9. Ricciardo 40
8. Gasly 39
10. Vettel 30
11. Alonso 20
12. Stroll 14
13. Ocon 12
14. Tsunoda 9
15. Raikkonen 1
16. Giovinazzi 1
17. Russell 0
18. Schumacher 0
19. Mazepin 0
20. Latifi 0
Teams
1. Red Bull Racing 289
2. Mercedes 245
3. McLaren 141
4. Ferrari 122
5. AlphaTauri 48
6. Aston Martin 44
7. Alpine 32
8. Alfa Romeo 2
9. Williams 0
10. Haas 0
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