With practically everything decided, the Interlagos Grand Prix aims to leave a show with the final weekend of this campaign in sprint format
The 2021 Formula 1 season ended on a high, with a script that not a few writers of thrilling films would have signed. Two of the greatest drivers of all time, the reigning super champion and the young contender, battled it out for the title in the final race, for which they tied and a final lap settled in a controversy that lasted for months. Even in the best dreams of the organizers, they could not have imagined such an ending.
A year later, that’s an old memory. The early World Cup resolution in favor of the defending champion, Max Verstappen, a few weekends ago, has completely decaffeinated the final stretch of 2022. except for the coffee growers themselves, are not enough reasons to stay with the television. Formula 1 is caught in its own net: the longest season in history (which won’t be with the Russian GP shutdown) has been one of the least exciting. The near-absolute dominance of Red Bull and Verstappen (the Dutchman has won 14 of 20 races so far and wants to break the record ceiling at 16) from the start was both a success for them and a condemnation for the competition itself. Or does someone stay glued to the screen to watch the battle for second, fifth or twelfth place?
There are still two grands prix to go before the end of the season, and it’s not entirely clear who will be second (Leclerc and Pérez are on the line), fourth (Russell, Hamilton and, distantly, Sainz) or the tense dispute for eighth among the Alpine drivers, although Ocon currently has some buffer against Alonso, who is looking forward to the end of his stage in blue and pink. The battle to see who will be the first driver of this campaign in Alpine will largely depend on the Spaniard not having another accident and car 14 avoiding the problems that attacked him in 2022.
sprint format
In an increasingly polarized world, every meadow is a battlefield. Even those of Formula 1, among those who defend one of the silent revolutions that will be implemented as commonplace little by little in the future.
This is the sprint format. The competition has been confronted for years with three-day Grand Prix (four if you count the media effort on Thursday) in which there is only interest in one and a half: the standings and the race. Practice sessions are very useful for engineers and drivers, just like training is in other sports. Benzema wouldn’t have won the Ballon d’Or without pounding himself and learning the moves in Valdebebas, or Barça wouldn’t have fully embraced their philosophy of possession if they hadn’t worked every day of rehearsal.
But Formula 1 is clear that the spectacle prevails above all and on Friday they are the protagonists again. This is the great advantage of sprinting: whoever wants to follow the whole story (a key word in this 21st century) of the Brazilian Grand Prix will have to be hooked from the first classification on Friday, which determines the starting grid for Saturday’s short race, whose result determines Sunday. This is the big advantage for the fans: they have useful action on the track all three days.
The major handicap was commented on by Max Verstappen, who as the reigning champion comments on it more than anyone else: sprint weekends become defensive races. Both on Friday and Saturday damage must be kept to a minimum, something that can occur minimally. It could already be seen in the other two events this year under this profile: except at the start, the slightly over 20-25 laps held in Imola and Austria on Saturday had little action.
These problems are nothing more than a symptom of the big problem Formula 1 has: it is becoming more and more loaded. The fans’ attention deficit is not covered by more races, more track action or more stimuli in general, but by giving weapons to the teams, drivers and engineers so that each of the races is an epic battle and no end more week racing that is forgotten after two days. That the Brazilian GP, once one of the most anticipated of the season, hasn’t made much noise should give some thought.
Source: La Verdad
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