F1 may postpone new sprint format from Baku to Austria GP

The race weekend schedule has come under scrutiny after F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali stated his support for eliminating free practice sessions.

Following this, drivers and championship officials pushed to change the structure of a sprint round by eliminating the controversial Saturday FP2 session in favor of a separate qualifying shootout.

Meanwhile, Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff remarked that maintaining F1's appeal should be the first concern. But he also expressed a preference for a more conventional Grand Prix weekend and cautioned executives against attacking the setup with a "baseball bat." Instead, he requested a "Stanley knife" with more precision.

"I’m more on the conservative side. I like qualifying. I like the Grand Prix, the great prize. But we have to also be open minded about where the sport is going to go and some of the sprint races have been fantastic," Wolff said.

“So whatever Stefano decides is good, I think he will have all the data on the table what is good for the audiences, what is good for the brand and then, we just want to, maybe, try and tweak things without using a baseball bat, but a Stanley knife… a more precise way to cut it.”

To carry out a second solo qualifying session in time for the Azerbaijan sprint round later this month, meetings were conducted over the Australian GP weekend.

However, due to the four-week break in place of a Chinese Grand Prix, many parties are on vacation, and tire producer Pirelli is in a race against time to deliver more tires.

Hence, it is more likely that the improved sprint race format will wait until July in Austria.

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Sebastien Vettel played a part in Aston Martin's F1 form improving in 2023, says Mick Krack

Sebastian Vettel

Sebastian Vettel retired last year at the end of a 15-year career that included four straight world championships for Red Bull from 2010 to 2013.

He finished his F1 career, which included a long tenure at Ferrari, with two years in midfield with Aston Martin. He failed to find success with the team aside from a single podium in Baku in 2021.

However, just as Aston Martin discovered a significant improvement in performance for 2023, Vettel is no longer around to savour the benefits.

The work of his two seasons, of attempting to assist the ambitious Lawrence Stroll-led company reach the top is only now bearing fruit.

According to Aston Martin team principal Mick Krack, Vettel can claim responsibility for the team's current run. This run has seen three consecutive podiums for his replacement Fernando Alonso.

"I think he has his merits in where the car is today, because we had many, many meetings last year where he gave us a hint: 'Do this' or 'Do that' or 'Do not do this with the new car,'" Krack said.