After a 3-week long break, racing resumes as F1 returns to Baku for the 2023 Azerbaijan GP. The race will also mark the first of 6 sprint races this season. However, just days before the start of the race weekend, F1 amended its Sprint weekend format.
According to the new format, FP1 and Qualifying will take place on Friday to determine the grid for Sunday’s race. A shortened sprint qualifying will take place on Saturday, which dictates the lineup for the sprint race.
This implies FP1 will be the only practice session available to teams and drivers. The challenging format, paired with the tricky conditions in Baku has already given early signs of the oncoming chaos this weekend.
What happened during FP1 of the 2023 Azerbaijan GP?
With the new format introduced ahead of the Azerbaijan GP, teams have to scramble all their simulations within the 60 minutes of testing and practice available. All cars lined up for FP1, however, just minutes into it, the session was red-flagged after Pierre Gasly’s Alpine caught fire.
At the same time, Kevin Magnussen stopped his car at Turn 1 due to a fuel problem. Meanwhile, Yuki Tsunoda suffered a tire failure, forcing the Japanese driver to limp back to the garage.
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz also came close to retirement after brushing past the wall. Alpine’s misery extended as Esteban Ocon suffered a hydraulic problem in his car.
Max Verstappen set the fastest time of the session at 1.42.315 seconds. He was closely followed by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who missed the top spot by 0.037 seconds.
F1 Twitter shows dissent at new Baku format
While the FP1 session of the Azerbaijan GP was pretty eventful, F1 fans weren’t impressed with the new format. Many fans predict the chaos in the first session to continue for the rest of the weekend.
Baku’s challenges and tricky layout force teams to bring upgrades specifically for the circuit. Add to that, there is always a challenge of tire temperatures due to the cool weather and long straights of the track. Hence, the limited 60-second window would not be enough for drivers and teams.
In the previous race in Melbourne, F1 saw the race red-flagged on 3 occasions. Many predict Baku could match the record or see similar levels of carnage. Twitter users ‘swiftsambi’ and ‘MattP1Gallagher’ claimed the lack of testing will cause a lot of chaos.
Another Twitter user ‘fiagirly,’ pointed out why Baku’s street circuit is not suitable for sprint races. A similar concern was raised by the user ‘checked,’ regarding the new format for the weekend.
Even Max Verstappen warned that the complicated and hectic format could cause a lot of chaos. His opinion regarding the format was closely matched by Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc who claim the weekend will be extremely difficult to manage.
