"Why? For what reason?": F1 pundits not happy with the sports obsession with 'excitement' as the new sprint format debuts at the 2023 Azerbaijan GP

Former F1 team boss Eddie Jordan has accused the sport's bosses of being obsessed with 'excitement' in recent times. Jordan is critical of the new sprint format being introduced at the 2023 Azerbaijan GP, claiming the sport is only seeking excitement.

F1 introduced sprint races in 2021, which involved running a shortened race on Saturday to determine the grid for Sunday's race. However, the drivers' overly cautious approach due to the risk of relegation to the back of the grid for Sunday's grand prix drew criticism.

The bosses at F1 have decided to revise the format for this season. Qualifying on Friday evening will now establish the grid for Sunday's race, while Saturday will feature a separate event. In the morning, there will be a sprint shootout to determine the starting grid for the afternoon's sprint race.

However, Eddie Jordan believes the sport is simply inviting more crashes with the new format. He told the 'Formula for Success' podcast:

“I’ll ask you a question. Why? For what reason? What they are doing is giving the game away because they want more starts because they think there is more excitement and more crashes at the beginning. It’s not similar to what happened in Australia, three starts."

Max Verstappen predicts chaos during the 2023 F1 Azerbaijan GP sprint weekend

Max Verstappen anticipates disorderliness and chaos during the sprint race at the 2023 Azerbaijan GP this weekend. Baku will host the inaugural event of this year's sprint races, which will involve a novel structure.

Despite voicing strong disapproval of both the sprint format and the choice of Baku as a venue, Verstappen is nevertheless striving for the highest number of points this weekend. The Dutchman will want to enhance his prospects of clinching a third consecutive world championship.

Max Verstappen, who triumphed in the same race last year, is eagerly anticipating the event, which he believes might be somewhat disorderly owing to it being the inaugural sprint race of the season.

Furthermore, now that the sprint race will no longer establish the grid for Sunday's GP, drivers will have greater liberty to take chances, potentially resulting in more accidents. The F1 driver said:

“Baku is a challenging track to get right. As it’s a street circuit with long straights, it gives us multiple options on what wings we can run. It’s also the first sprint race weekend of the season so that might make it slightly chaotic. We just need to try and get a good start into the weekend with a solid FP1 session. Let’s see what we can do.”

The F1 driver topped the time charts during the first and only practice session this weekend, putting him in a good place for the coming days.