My Thoughts and Opinions: Was F1's First Sprint Race a Success?

*Disclaimer - All views and opinions that follow below are my own.

For years, Formula One have been conjuring up ideas in order to improve the racing in our sport. They first brought us the controversial "Elimination Qualifying" back in 2016. A format that would eliminate a competitor from qualifying every 90 seconds. This was scrapped after only two qualifying sessions due to intense backlash from drivers, teams and fans. And now in 2021, Formula One are trying out a new format - Sprint Qualifying/Race. Do we even know what it actually is, at this point?

The inaugural inclusion of the sprint would take place at the 2021 British Grand Prix in front of a full crowd. The first time Formula One has seen a full crowd in nearly two years due to the Coronavirus Pandemic. The weekend as a whole would take a different format to what we are used to seeing. On Friday we would see the normal "Free Practice One," followed by a normal qualifying session which would replace "Free Practice Two," and thus work out the grid for the Sprint on Saturday. On Saturday morning, "Free Practice Two" would replace "Free Practice Three" and the Sprint race in the afternoon would determine the grid for the main race on Sunday. Ok, are you still with me? It's a little bit confusing.

The Sprint race itself was to be raced over 100km, or 17 laps, with the winner, in this case Red Bull's Max Verstappen, taking pole for the main race the next day. The top three drivers were also to be awarded points to help with their hunts for the championship. Three points would go to the winner. Two to second place and one to third. The point of the Sprint is to give fans more action. A chance to see the fastest people in the world racing at full throttle with no pit stops/pit strategies, fuel saving, tyre saving etc. There is also the added bonus of potentially getting a mixed up grid for Sunday thus making the racing more interesting over all. But did it work? I'm personally yet to fully decide.

When the new format was announced, I was pessimistic. 2016's "Elimination Qualifying" ruined all chances for me to be optimistic about something new. I like the current format and don't see much, if anything, wrong with it. Why change something if it doesn't need changing? Maybe Formula One should look at different aspects of the sport which could help improve the quality of racing? Regardless, I would give the Sprint a go and get myself ready to say "I told you so" to my very small social media following afterwards. But, that wasn't the case. I enjoyed it.

For me, it was all about having that extra race to watch. An extra chance to be in my racing element and nerd out over Formula One, as I would usually do over the course of a normal race. As for the racing itself, I thought it was brilliant. The first lap in particular. Seeing the fastest people in the world driving these ferocious beasts at a low-fuel capacity and at full throttle was immense. In particular, Alpine's Fernando Alonso with a mega start, as well as nail biting battles and overtakes to earn him a 7th place start on the grid for the main event. And, I have to mention Ferrari's Carlos Sainz. A tussle with William's George Russell on Lap 1 caused him to drop to the back of the grid. His comeback to start in 10th the following day is unfortunately not really talked about. But I noticed and I enjoyed.

Despite this, particularly on social media, the Sprint hasn't seem to have won many people over and I can understand why.

First of all, a lot of people, like myself, like the historic aspect of the current qualifying format. The current format is Formula One. Anything else sounds and feels bizarre or wrong but I agree with what Formula One's Managing Director; Ross Brawn, had to say: “I think we can’t be held back by history. I mean, we need to respect history but we must never be held back by history.” In Formula One, cars and tracks are constantly evolving, maybe the formats need to be adjusted to suit them, to maximise as much racing as possible. Or more importantly, maybe we, as fans, need to be more accepting to change?

And, then there is the argument of "what was the point?" I think it is fair to say that not all drivers went full throttle during that Sprint. They were cautious. Why do anything to the car that risks it for the main event? As mentioned above, the first couple of laps were brilliant but it soon slowed into a procession with everyone just wanting to get across the line in one piece, ready for the following day. As for Sunday's grid, it would near enough be as normal.

So that leaves us with the question, "was it successful?" Formula One seem to think so, social media seems divided, as do I, as do the drivers. I think my opinion is - "I liked it. I liked having that extra race. But, was it worth it? What did it achieve?" I personally need to see another race weekend adopt this format to get a proper opinion. Right now, I can't imagine it being an overly feasible way to improve the quality of racing but I understand the aspect behind it. For now, I guess we wait and see.

Book Review: The Limit by Michael Cannell

As an avid motorsport fan and as an avid book reader, I decided to go to the local Waterstones, a British bookstore, in order to find an interesting read on Formula One's spectacular and often horrendous history. Here, I came across "The Limit: Life and Death in Formula One's Most Dangerous Era" by Michael Cannell.

First released in 2011, Cannell tells the thrilling yet sad story of two Formula One Grand Prix drivers who find themselves fighting for the 1961 World Drivers Championship. Phil Hill was an American driver, originating from California, experienced in racing midget and sport cars. His rival, Wolfgang von Trips, who would go onto be nicknamed "Count von Crash," was from a noble family based in Rhineland, Germany. His interest in cars and racing was encouraged by British and American soldiers who occupied his family's castle during World War Two. After of what seems some extensive research, Cannell goes into further detail about both gentlemen's childhoods and how two extremely different people; Hill being intense and highly sensitive and von Trips being charming and extroverted, both go onto catch the eye of the infamous Enzo Ferrari. With the Ferrari name behind them, both would try and achieve every Formula One drivers dream - becoming World Champion.

From the start, the book is leading onto the big event - the Italian Grand Prix in 1961; the home of Ferrari. Hill and von Trips went into the race fighting for the championship. One would win and one would perish in an accident that caused the death of fifteen spectators. You soon realise, no matter who you are, in Formula One the race goes on. And, if you are Phil Hill, your spectacular championship win is completely overshadowed by the death of your most closest competitor; Wolfgang von Trips.

"The Limit" looks back at how different and dangerous Formula One used to be, where accidents and fatalities were guaranteed at almost every event. It's quite a shock to be reminded that safety was the least of race officials concerns back in the 1950's. Drivers themselves would continue to race if a competitor perished during the race weekend. Cannell's words cleverly portray, with thanks to external sources, how the drivers felt during these times and, as the reader, you can get a really personal feel or "connection" to this.

Obviously this is not a story but a recap of Formula One history. One which Cannell portrays extremely well with his brilliant writing and research. It really hits you that these people, men or women, that are portrayed as some kind of superhero, are in fact frail humans, constantly putting their lives on the line. "The Limit" never let's you forget that.

I, for one, really enjoyed this read. Every time I opened the book, I was transported back in time, deeply immersed into the history of Formula One and motor sport in general. I've learnt things about the sport I never knew before and I've learnt about racing drivers who truly were incredible in that dangerous era. As for Cannell, who is someone who has little interest in motor sport, I think that it has been been written beautifully with every moment detailed to a great quality. I can't help but grin when I think of this book, despite the sad and perilous circumstances that surround it. I also can't help but compare this story to "Rush," which portrays a later rivalry between the late Niki Lauda and the late James Hunt. And, I'm sure in the future will have more stories on fierce rivalries. I for one cannot wait. In the meantime, I highly recommend this read for all motorsport fans. It's one you don't really want to miss!

"The Limit - Life and Death in Formula One's Most Dangerous Era." by Michael Cannell.

Language: English

Pages: 336

First Released: November 2011

Publisher: Atlantic Books

The Story of an Underrated F1 Driver

Some may call me biased for writing this. I probably am. I'm also stating a clear fact; Carlos Sainz is the most underrated driver in recent F1 history. Unfortunately, his talent and race craft has been overlooked by a very small handful, of what some may call "controversial," social media incidents. But it's time to look past that and see the Spaniard for what he really is; a very talented Formula One racing driver.

Carlos Sainz was born in Madrid in September 1994 to famous double World Rally Champion; Carlos Sainz. Coming from a motor sport background, it was inevitable that Carlos Jnr would, in some way, follow in his father's footsteps into the world of racing.

Winning his first karting championship in 2008, it wasn't long until Carlos was scouted by the Red Bull Junior Team thus making his 2010 debut in single seaters. His first championship winning year came in 2011 after he won the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. The following year he contested in British Formula 3 before moving to GP3, a support series to Formula One, in 2013. That year's GP3 title went to Carlos' teammate; Daniil Kvyat whereas after a torrid season where he was regularly compared to then Formula One driver; Pastor Maldonado, Carlos finished in 10th. Daniil then went on to debut in Formula One the following season. For Carlos, he went back to the Formula Renault family for 2014 where he greatly redeemed himself by winning that years Formula Renault 3.5 championship thus earning himself a place on the Formula One grid for 2015. This is where our story truly begins.

Carlos Sainz made his Formula One debut with the then Scuderia Toro Rosso F1 Team in Australia 2015 alongside the highly anticipated Max Verstappen. He qualified and finished the race in the top ten. After a crash in Free Practice 3 at the Russian Grand Prix, Carlos finished his first Formula One season in 15th position in the championship. His teammate

Verstappen finished 12th.

Both drivers continued to be teammates at Toro Rosso for the 2016 season and in the early part of the season, before Max moved to the sister team; Red Bull, they matched and pushed each other on track to the maximum. But, unfortunately for Carlos, he was overlooked for that potential move to Red Bull. One that caused a lot of out-cry and controversy in the Red Bull family. Instead, Carlos continued on at Toro Rosso with ex-GP3 teammate; Daniill Kvyat. Carlos would finish this season in 12th with 46 points, outscoring Daniill by 21 points.

Carlos went on to contest a third year at Toro Rosso in 2017 with a career best race finish; P4 at the Sinagpore Grand Prix. He also managed to again outscore Kvyat by finishing in 9th in the championship compared to Kvyat's 19th. It should be noted however, that Kvyat was replaced by Pierre Gasly towards the end of this season. Also, Carlos himself moved to Renault at the USA Grand Prix of this year where he out-qualified new team mate; Nico Hulkenberg and finished the race in 7th. Combining his points from Toro Rosso and Renault for this year, Carlos finished 9th in the World Driver's Championship, Carlos' best race season in Formula One to date.

It's fair to say that Carlos never had an easy start in Formula One. He was overshadowed by a younger talent that had been highly anticipated in this sport. He was also plagued with reliability issues with the car. Despite this, Carlos did what he could and has been Verstappen's closest teammate, pace wise, to date. Something that has always been overlooked and very rarely mentioned. I generally feel as if Carlos had no choice but to move to another team. With Verstappen as the lead driver at Red Bull Racing and with rumours that he (Verstappen) and his father had a big influence on any future teammates, Carlos' chances at moving to the senior team were slim. He needed to prove himself elsewhere, hence continuing on with Renault for the 2018 season.

Carlos' time at Renault started off positively, however, despite this he was constantly out-paced by teammate Hulkenberg. He scored in thirteen out of the nineteen races held in 2018 and finished the season in 10th, 3 places behind Hulkenberg. In my opinion this has been Carlos' hardest season to date and was less than impressive compared to his time at Toro Rosso. Carlos was replaced at Renault for the following season in 2019 by Daniel Ricciardo who was leaving Red Bull Racing. At the end of this year, he (Carlos) also left the Red Bull family for good by signing with McLaren for 2019.

Carlos had an interesting start to his time at McLaren with several DNFs and incidents. However, things soon took a turn for the better where he scored consistently in races and was often classed as "better than the rest." After a maiden podium at the 2019 Brazilian Grand Prix, Carlos finished the season in 6th, doubling his points from his previous best season in 2017 and out scoring new teammate; rookie, Lando Norris. Ironically, he was fighting for the position against two other drivers; Pierre Gasly and Alexander Albon, both of who had driven for Red Bull alongside Max Verstappen that season.

Moving onto 2020, Carlos would stay with McLaren. This would also be Carlos' most successful full Formula One season to date including a career best qualifying of 3rd at the Styrian Grand Prix and a career best race finish of 2nd at the Italian Grand Prix, finishing only 0.4 seconds behind race winner; Pierre Gasly. Carlos and teammate; Lando Norris were extremely close on track and consistently pushed each other. However, Carlos eventually came out on top by finishing the World Driver's Championship in 6th compared to Lando's 9th. Carlos also managed numerous career highs during this season including 105 points earned in one season and 6 top-five race finishes also gained in one season.

Carlos really flourished during his time at McLaren. With being the more experienced driver in the team and having a teammate that consistently pushed him to the limit, I think Carlos proved he meant business in Formula One and the prestigious and historic team; Scuderia Ferrari obviously agreed after managing to snatch Carlos from McLaren for the 2021 season. This would be a move that would really test Carlos and his abilities. Was he the real deal or just a number two driver?

At the time of writing this piece, we are nine races into the 2021 Formula One season. Carlos has so far scored in seven out of the nine races, one of these being a 2nd place in Monaco. He also currently sits in 7th in the championship; one place and two points behind highly talented and regarded teammate; Charles Leclerc. For the first time, I feel as if Carlos is finally getting the recognition he deserves with numerous people praising his ability to adapt to his new team and car quickly and smoothly as well as consistently matching teammate Leclerc.

It's fair to say that the journey Carlos has been hasn't been the smoothest and as with many other drivers, points don't always prove someone's talent. Look at George Russell, for example. But, I think we have learnt that despite an up and down career, Carlos is extremely overlooked as a racing driver. Its time more people enjoyed watching him drive racing cars. I, for one, look forward to a "Carlos masterclass" every race weekend and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for Carlos. Fans of motorsport should not be writing out Spaniard off just yet. That's for sure.