14/05/2021
NEWS STORY
F1 has announced that qualifying for the sport's first ever Sprint Qualifying will take place in the evening.
FP1 will take place between 14:30 and 15:30 on Friday 16 July, with qualifying taking place between 18:00 and 19:00.
FP2 will take place on Saturday between 12:00 and 13:00, while the first ever Sprint Qualifying 'race' will get underway at 16:30.
The British Grand Prix will get underway at 15:00 on Sunday 18 July.
The schedule change is obviously to accommodate the fact that adopting the usual session timings would mean that those people working on Friday, or at school, would miss the qualifying session.
"Sprint Qualifying will be run over 100km and lasting around 25-30 minutes," confirmed Formula One Management, according to the sport's official website. "It is designed to provide a short and fast-paced racing spectacle - similar to a Twenty20 cricket match - with drivers racing flat-out from start to finish without the need to pit.
"Points will be awarded to the top three finishers, three for the winner down to one point for third."
In a bid to preserve the importance and exclusivity of the Grand Prix, there will be no podium ceremony following the Sprint Qualifying.
However the winner will be presented with a trophy in Parc Ferme, similar manner to the tyre the pole-sitter is currently awarded by Pirelli after qualifying.
As previously reported, the finishing order of the Sprint Qualifying event will define the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.