F1’s new Sprint Qualifying is a half-hearted compromise: Karun Chandhok

The Sprint Qualifying, set to be introduced in July’s British GP at Silverstone followed by two more GPs, will be a race across 100 km and will last around 30 minutes without any pit stop.

Former India Formula One driver Karun Chandhok, 37, believes the new Sprint Qualifying is a half-baked attempt by the sport’s organisers to bring about radical changes and attract younger audiences. “I feel the Sprint Challenge is a half-hearted compromise and not exactly a proper shot at trying something totally different in F1,” Chandhok, who drove for the Hispania Racing Team in the 2010 Forma One season, told mid-day.com from the United Kingdom on Friday.

The Sprint Qualifying, set to be introduced in July’s British GP at Silverstone followed by two more GPs, will be a race across 100 km and will last around 30 minutes without any pit stop. It will replace the current qualifying procedure on Saturday with points to be awarded to the top three finishers (three points for the winner, two for second place and one for third). The order of finish will determine the order of Sunday's race grid.

Chandhok felt that the nature of the Sprint Qualifying is such that it will inevitably benefit the faster cars, who are already dominating the F1 circuit anyway. “The new Sprint Qualifying is nothing but a shortened Grand Prix, where the fastest cars will start at the front. While there is no denying the fact that it’s interesting because the fans will get to witness two race starts instead of one in the same weekend, I’m sure the sport’s purists won’t like it. I’m a purist and for me, the present qualifying format, where all the action builds up at the end of each of three practice sessions, is the best way to determine the starting grid,” added Chandhok, currently a television pundit with British media outlet Sky Sports.

It’s no wonder then that some of the top F1 drivers have given the Sprint Challenge the thumbs up. Seven-time world champion and Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, who has one of the fastest cars in the circuit, praised the new qualifying format. “I’ve always said that we need to have some sort of different format throughout the year at some tracks. So I like that they’re open-minded and making changes. I think from those experimental weekends, hopefully, the sport will learn lots on how we can deploy better races moving forwards,” Hamilton said at a press conference in Portimao, Portugal ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix. Former world champion Sebastian Vettel agreed with his rival. “It [Sprint Qualifying] will make the weekend a bit more intense,” said the Aston Martin driver.

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