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Mercedes boss Toto Wolff feels that the performance gap between the teams is the primary reason behind sprint races not producing too much entertainment. Wolff was questioned on what his views were regarding the lack of action in the 2022 F1 Austrian GP sprint race, to which he alluded to the variation in individual teams' performances.
The 50-year-old said:
“I think the reason why races have less entertainment is because there’s just too much performance gap between the teams. If you have [Max] Verstappen disappearing in a distance, the two Ferraris being the only entertainment during the race and then we [Mercedes] are in the middle of nowhere in no man’s land. Then the others are further behind, and then you have DRS trains. That never can make a good sprint race.”
The Mercedes boss however reinforced his faith in Stefano Domenicali, stating that the F1 chief would have taken a look at this and would be considering things.
He said:
“I think if I have trust in one person to choose the right sprint races, it’s Stefano. And Stefano will have seen [the Austria race] and will take it into consideration.”
Contrary to the Mercedes boss, Daniel Ricciardo gives his nod to the sprint weekend
In contrast to Toto Wolff's statements, McLaren driver Daniel Ricciardo felt that the F1 sprint race weekend was great in general as it brought more purpose to each team and driver. Claiming that it brought another dimension to the weekend, the Australian said:
“I like it. The Friday, it’s a bit more fun for a driver to be honest. And also, I’ve said it a few times, but when you’ve been doing it for 10 years, like a Friday practice, I think when there’s something to fight for every day, it does keep the weekend a bit more, I don’t want to say exciting, but there’s more purpose, every session.”
“I think that mix up is good. I think it’s kind of refreshing as well. I think they’re boosting it next year, so I’m okay with that. And I think racing as well, every time the lights go out, that’s when your adrenaline’s the highest.”
The sprint weekend does have more action overall, but to create an action-packed Saturday, some alterations might be required to be made to the format.
