Following confirmation of MotoGP’s new Sprint Race weekend format, there are some lessons which F1 can learn and adapt for their own Sprint weekends.
Last month saw MotoGP announce the introduction of a new Sprint Race addition to their race weekend format, which divided fans over how the new race weekend schedule would take shape in order to accomondate the Sprint Races.
MotoGP officials have now confirmed that Free Practice 3 will be dropped on Saturday mornings, with traditional knockout Qualifying brought forward to take its slot, which means that MotoGP’s premier class will now carry the following weekend format from 2023 onwards:
| Day | Session |
| Friday | FP1 (45 minutes) |
| FP2 (60 minutes) | |
| Saturday | Qualifying |
| Sprint Race | |
| Sunday | Grand Prix |
This schedule therefore raises serious questions about F1’s approach of having Qualifying on Friday evenings followed by FP2 on Saturday mornings, because MotoGP’s scheduling format is much simpler and offers guarantee of trying to get in at least one Practice session on Fridays.
F1 on the other hand would have a huge issue heading into Qualifying sessions held on a Friday if FP1 was cancelled due to freight, weather or track related issues, which would likely mean a scheduling headache if suddenly moved FP1 to Qualifying slot and ran Qualifying in FP2 slot on Saturdays.
MotoGP Qualifying will also set the grid for both races which is simpler than F1’s approach of Qualifying setting the grid for the Sprint, of which the result of the Sprint set the grid for the main race on top of grid penalties only applying to the main race.
Across the entire weekend, there will be a new running order of; Moto3, Moto2 then MotoGP for each running period on morning and afternoons across Fridays and Saturday, with Sundays broadly staying the same despite some Moto3 or Moto2 races having been held after MotoGP at select races.
Compare that to F1’s approach of being sandwiched by F3 and F2 on Fridays and Saturdays at various races and it also feels simpler, whereas F1 scheduling is bit messy as can often get chunky gaps between sessions due to exhibition laps or Porsch SuperCup sessions.
MotoGP’s scheduling approach therefore feels neater because you know that Fridays are about practice and nailing set-up, ahead of a competitive Saturday in which Qualifying is crucial for setting the grid for both races.
Quite frankly if I was F1 CEO – Stefano Domenicali, I would seriously look at MotoGP’s approach and try to apply it to F1, because it’s simpler and would prevent a lacklustre FP2 session on Saturdays because fans would have two days of immense competition whilst Friday is about practice alone.
Additional Incentive In Points System
In terms of points for Sprint Races, MotoGP has it right with a top nine finishers receiving the following points; 12-9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
This points system provides extra incentive to chase the win given that the three point advantage of winning and gaining 12 points could be crucial come end of the season compared to just nine points for second, seven for third and so on until the ninth-placed finisher gets one point.
Compare that to the F1 points system approach of; 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 for the top eight finishers on top of a Fastest Lap point and it is clear that MotoGP has additional incentive for winning Sprint Races, whereas F1’s points system feels a bit meh in comparison despite potential to be vital in title fights.
F1 also has the advantage of having two support series in F2 and F3 who already run well-established Sprint Races, in which the winner receives ten points although F2 feels more rewarding than F3 due to only awarding points to the top eight finishers compared to top ten finishers in latter series.
The F1 Sprint Race points system therefore is in a tricky position because on one hand, it doesn’t feel as exciting as MotoGP’s approach, yet is roughly in line with its feeder series – F2 so it is a tough one to call in terms of spicing up F1’s points system for Sprint Races without straying from its feeder links.
Perhaps adopting F2’s Sprint Race points system might be a better way for F1 to go with the following points for top eight finishers; 10, 8, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 & 1 in order to add a bit of extra edge to reward for winning Sprint Races.
Watch and Learn
In summary on first looks at MotoGP’s Sprint Race weekend format, it feels like they’ve studied F1’s approach and learned to not do what F1 have done by keeping Fridays for Practice, whilst dropping FP3 for Qualifying could add extra unpredictability if not nailed practice and setup planning.
Throw in the possibility of wet Friday Practice sessions and a dry Qualifying on Saturday mornings and you have further edge to the Qualifying sessions, especially if some frontrunners missed out on automatic qualification for Q2 on combined lap times after Friday’s Practice sessions.
I am therefore more intrigued by how MotoGP’s scheduling format unfolds on a practical level because there will be plenty of aspects that F1 should study closely, whilst looking to adapt within their own Sprint Race weekends.
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