Former F1 world champion Damon Hill gives his nod of approval to new sprint format

Former F1 world champion Damon Hill hailed the new sprint format as better than the traditional one used over the years.

The new format proposes one free practice session, followed by a qualifying session for the race on Friday. On Saturday, there will be another qualifying session for the sprint race, followed by the sprint race itself, which will contain a few points. Finally, the main race will take place on Sunday.

Speaking on the Sky Sports F1 podcast, Hill explained how Fridays are usually quite dull, as the free practice sessions are similar to testing, where cars run around the track without pushing or racing each other, while teams try to perfect their setup for the race. He said:

"When I started working with Sky, by that time they changed the setup, and I thought there's no point of me turning up on Friday. I used to turn up on a Friday just to catch up with what was going on, but Friday was very dull. And I think that is the problem with the current three practice setup, it doesn't mean anything. It's testing; it's like going to watch people go testing."

Furthermore, he explained how the new sprint race weekend format uses all three days and gives fans something to look forward to.

Friday will have the qualifying session for the main race; Saturday will be completely dedicated to the sprint, with qualifying and race, and Sunday will remain intact for the main race. Hill concluded:

"So as I understand it ... they are now proposing you have a separate qualifying on the Friday for the grid on Sunday. So Friday is important, and I think that's good, and Saturday is also important because it carries points with it, but it's not going to affect the Sunday event. So I think it's actually quite clever. I think it's a genius idea; it is better than the last format because it's now independent."

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Toto Wolff supports cost cap restrictions in F1 despite Mercedes woes

Mercedes will be struggling quite a lot in terms of finances as they take a new route for their W14 car in the 2023 F1 season. However, team boss Toto Wolff still supports the introduction of a cost cap in the sport and reiterates the positive changes it brings. He said:

"This is what we wanted. We wanted to have a more financially sustainable future; we wanted to have 10 teams that are capable of racing well with the aerodynamic testing restrictions that are advantageous for the ones that are in the back. All of that is to create a very competitive field."

Due to the cost cap, teams like Aston Martin have shot up the grid and become a new top team. Like the green British team, there could be other teams that could jump to the front and make F1 more competitive in the future.