British GP qualifying on Friday evening
Qualifying for July’s British Grand Prix will be run on Friday evening as part of Formula 1’s format shake-up for the Silverstone race weekend.
F1 will hold its first 100km sprint race on the Saturday of the 16-18 July event to set the grid for the Grand Prix on Sunday. The format change meant qualifying at Silverstone would always get bumped to Friday, but now officials have revealed that it will start at 6pm. A single one-hour practice session will be held beforehand at 2.30pm. Teams will then have two and a half hours to prepare for qualifying, the result of which will set the starting grid for the sprint race on Saturday.
The evening qualifying could offer a boost to crowd numbers at Silverstone, allowing spectators to attend after finishing work or school. Sunset will not occur until after 9pm, meaning light conditions are unlikely to have much of an impact, although teams are likely to contend with cooler track conditions than usual.
The schedule shake-up on Saturday means second practice takes place at noon before the start of ‘sprint qualifying’ (the sprint race) at 4.30pm. Sunday’s British Grand Prix will start one hour later than usual, at 3pm.
The ‘sprint qualifying’ format is being used at three events this year, with F1 officials also planning to stage the Saturday events at Monza and Interlagos, albeit subject to confirmation. F1 bosses have made clear that the sprint races are very much at a trial stage in 2021, and could either be expanded or removed entirely depending on their success or otherwise this year.
“We are excited by this new opportunity that will bring our fans an even more engaging race weekend in 2021,” said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. “Seeing the drivers battling it out over three days will be an amazing experience. I am sure the drivers will relish the fight. I am delighted that all the teams supported this plan, and it is a testament to our united efforts to continue to engage our fans in new ways while ensuring we remain committed to the heritage and meritocracy of our sport.”
Although Silverstone is yet to confirm its attendance plans amid ongoing discussions with the UK
government as it trials a reduced fan return to sporting events, the track revealed last week that it has added another grandstand at Chapel Curve due to “incredible demand” for tickets.
TURKEY OFF, AUSTRIA DOUBLE, FRANCE MOVE
Just a couple of weeks after adding the Turkish Grand Prix to the 2021 calendar, F1 has been forced to scrap plans to hold a race at Istanbul Park. The event was intended to replace the cancelled Canadian GP on 13 June, but was pulled from the schedule last week due to the UK government’s update to its ‘red list’.
A spike in COVID-19 cases in Turkey prompted lawmakers to enforce a strict 10-day quarantine at a government-approved hotel for those arriving in the UK from the country, making the race unviable given the number of Uk-based teams and personnel. A date swap with the preceding weekend’s Azerbaijan GP was discussed, only for Baku to rule out the move due to its Euro 2020 hosting commitments on 12 June.
The knock-on effect is that a second race at Austria’s Red Bull Ring has been added to the schedule, reviving the Styrian Grand Prix title first used last season, while the French GP at Paul Ricard has been brought forward by one week to 20 June. This will be followed by the Styrian GP on 27 June, with the second race at the
Red Bull Ring – the Austrian GP – retaining its
4 July date to complete the first triple-header of 2021.
Turkey is officially postponed but not cancelled. A return later in the year is possible should the pandemic force further revisions to the schedule.