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In 2023, Formula 1 continued to experiment with the sprint weekend format and decided to separate the sprint from the main events. On Friday, qualifying for the Sunday Grand Prix wrapped up the day’s sports program and on Saturday, qualifying for the sprint, dubbed the Sprint Shootout, opened it up.
The Sprint Shootout has an interesting format. Three sessions, as in regular qualifying, only shorter. 12 minutes – the first, 10 minutes – the second and eight minutes – the third.
In the first two sessions only one new Medium set can be used, in the final only one new Soft set. Norris and Tsunoda had no new Soft tires left, so if they reached the final they could not participate.
For the first time in the season, Pirelli brought the softest compounds onto the podium: C4 as Medium and C5 as Soft. On Friday, Charles Leclerc won qualifying by taking pole position in Sunday’s race with a fastest lap of 1:40.203.
In the first session riders worked the Medium over a series of laps to get the tires running. Only one set could be used, the number of rounds being limited only by time.
Exiting turn three, Piastri drove into the safety pocket and continued. Then there was also de Vries. Gasly only showed the 19th fastest time and returned to the pits ahead of schedule, dropping out of contention due to problems with the exhaust system.
At the last minute, exiting turn 15, Sargent crashed the car, circling Sainz, who was returning to the pits. The session was stopped with red flags and decided not to continue.
The fastest time was set by Leclerc with a time of 1:42.820. Zhou, Bottas, Tsunoda, Gasly and de Vries fell out of the further battle. The start of the second session was delayed by ten minutes.
In the second session the riders worked the same pattern, alternating fast and slow laps as they warmed up the Medium tires.
Hulkenberg drove into the safety pocket of turn seven. Then Sainz stalled in 15th and kept moving.
Verstappen returned to the pits first and led the scoresheet with 1:42.417. Piastri, Hulkenberg, Ocon, Magnussen and Sargent failed to qualify for the final.
In the final everyone delivered a new set of Soft, but Norris stayed in the pits – he didn’t have a new Soft.
In the first fast lap, Pérez led the scoresheet in 1:41.876, after which Leclerc went faster in 1:41.697.
With the tires cooled down, the drivers embarked on a second run on the same set when Charles Leclerc crashed into the barrier at turn 5 and broke the front wing. The yellow flags forced the riders to slow down, which hindered some but helped others.
Charles Leclerc wins the first ever Formula 1 Sprint Shootout. Sergio Perez will share the front row in today’s sprint, Max Verstappen and George Russell will start from the second row, Carlos Sainz and Lewis Hamilton will start from third.
Sprint Shootout Results
| Pilot | Team | 1 session | 2 session | 3 session | ||||||
| m | Time | kr | m | Time | kr | m | Time | kr | ||
| 1. Sch.Lecler | Ferrari | 1 | 1:42,820 | 5 | 2 | 1:42,500 | 5 | 1 | 1:41,697 | 4 |
| 2. C. Perez | Red Bull | 7 | 1:43,858 | 6 | 4 | 1:42,925 | 4 | 2 | 1:41,844 | 5 |
| 3. M. Verstappen | Red Bull | 2 | 1:43,288 | 5 | 1 | 1:42,417 | 3 | 3 | 1:41,987 | 5 |
| 4.D Russell | Mercedes | 5 | 1:43,763 | 6 | 7 | 1:43.112 | 7 | 4 | 1:42,252 | 5 |
| 5. K. Sainz | Ferrari | 4 | 1:43,622 | 5 | 3 | 1:42,909 | 6 | 5 | 1:42,287 | 4 |
| 6. L. Hamilton | Mercedes | 3 | 1:43,561 | 6 | 6 | 1:43.061 | 6 | 6 | 1:42,502 | 5 |
| 7. A. Albon | Willems | 10 | 1:43,987 | 6 | 9 | 1:43,376 | 6 | 7 | 1:42,846 | 5 |
| 8. F. Alonso | Aston Martin | 6 | 1:43,789 | 6 | 5 | 1:42,976 | 5 | 8 | 1:43.010 | 5 |
| 9. L. Walk | Aston Martin | 8 | 1:43,879 | 6 | 8 | 1:43.375 | 6 | 9 | 1:43.064 | 5 |
| 10. L. Norris | McLaren | 9 | 1:43,938 | 6 | 10 | 1:43.395 | 6 | 10 | – | 0 |
| 11. O. Piastri | McLaren | 13 | 1:44.179 | 6 | eleven | 1:43,427 | 6 | |||
| 12. N. Hulkenberg | hare | 15 | 1:44,843 | 6 | 12 | 1:43,806 | 6 | |||
| 13. E. Okon | Alps | 14 | 1:44,433 | 6 | 13 | 1:44.088 | 5 | |||
| 14. K. Magnussen | hare | 12 | 1:44.101 | 6 | 14 | 1:44,332 | 5 | |||
| 15. L. Sargent | Willems | eleven | 1:44.042 | 6 | 15 | – | 0 | |||
| 16.G Zhou | Alfa Romeo | 16 | 1:45.177 | 6 | ||||||
| 17. V. Bottas | Alfa Romeo | 17 | 1:45,352 | 6 | ||||||
| 18. Y. Tsunoda | AlphaTauri | 18 | 1:45,436 | 6 | ||||||
| 19.P Gasly | Alps | 19 | 1:46,951 | 3 | ||||||
| 20. N. de Vries | AlphaTauri | 20 | 1:48.180 | 6 | ||||||
Source: F1 News
I am Christopher Clyde, an experienced journalist and content writer with a passion for sports. I have been writing about Formula 1 news for the past five years and am currently employed as an author at athletistic.com, one of the top sports websites in the US.
