Breaking Down the Possible 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Weekend Format

Luke Edmonds : Twitter @LukeEdm66579762

On Sunday morning before the commencement of the Australian Grand Prix, the Formula One teams got together to discuss the format of the race in Baku at the end of April. The accepted plan is something that will confuse F1 fans, and is not what we expected for Baku, when it was announced that it would be 1 of 6 events this season that would hold a sprint race.

Baku is the first race this season that will have the agreed racing format, however, the weekend schedule is still waiting on clearance from the FIA, as well as each of the team bosses. If approved, this format will effect Baku, Austria, Spa, Qatar, COTA, and Interlagos.

The Proposed Sprint Race Weekend Format:

Friday : FP1
2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix Qualifying

Saturday: Sprint Race Qualifying
Sprint Race

Sunday: 2023 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

There are some positives and negatives to this, as there is with most changes that Formula One proposes. FP1 would still only be 1 hour long, meaning that the cars would only have 60 total minutes of run time that would not be a part of a Qualifying or Race format. However, many people have been in favor of removing an FP3 session for a while because of its rules about making changes to the car.

The proposed weekend format is unlike anything we have seen before in F1. 2 Qualifying sessions over the course of a weekend is risky for both the cars and the drivers, as pushing your car to the edge always has an element of risk, and to have one of those sessions be for a race that is not the official grand prix is possibly dangerous.