It’s been nearly four weeks since the last F1 race, and fans have been eagerly waiting for the action to resume. And it’s finally here, the first Sprint event of the season, in Baku. With new format changes approved by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council, there are a lot of talking points to look forward to this weekend.

Exciting New Sprint Format Approved By FIA

The new Sprint format is a welcome change, with FP2 on a Saturday morning being replaced by a ‘Sprint Shootout’ qualifying session that will decide the grid for the Sprint. Friday’s qualifying will provide the order for the Grand Prix itself, making Saturday a standalone day, allowing drivers to fight without fear of major repercussions. The Saturday qualifying format is similar to Q1-Q2-Q3, with shorter time windows of 12, 10, and 8 minutes respectively. Teams must also only use new medium tyres in Q1 and Q2 on Saturday and new softs in Q3. The top eight will score in the Sprint, and the points situation will remain unchanged.

Teams Hard At Work During The Break

During the break, teams have been hard at work back at their factories, with the usual R&D taking place within the engineering teams. McLaren has already confirmed that they will be bringing a significant update to Baku, and Ferrari will have a package specific to the downforce levels required in Azerbaijan. It remains to be seen who else will bring new parts to the race, with just one hour of practice before locking in the car’s setup for the rest of the event.

Ferrari’s Petition For The Right Of Review

Ferrari’s Team Principal, Fred Vasseur, confirmed that they had submitted a petition for a right of review into the penalty given to Carlos Sainz in Australia. Sainz was handed a five-second time penalty for causing a collision with Fernando Alonso on the final standing restart in Melbourne, a punishment that proved extremely costly as the race ended behind the Safety Car, and Sainz dropped from fourth on the road to outside the points. Ferrari’s petition was dismissed, but they are now looking forward to entering broader discussions with the FIA, F1, and all the teams, with the aim of further improving the policing of the sport.

Season About To Get Intense

With the Chinese Grand Prix postponed again, there was no replacement, leaving 23 races to take place this year. And 20 of them are still to come as we approach the end of April, which means the season is about to get extremely intense. Baku kicks off the first double-header of the year alongside Miami, and then we head to our first triple-header featuring Imola, Monaco, and Barcelona. If you’ve been missing your F1, don’t worry, we’ve got five races in six weeks to fill the void now.

Final Thoughts

The first Sprint event of the season in Baku is set to be an exciting weekend with new format changes approved by the FIA. Teams have been hard at work during the break, and fans can expect to see some new parts introduced to the cars. Ferrari’s petition for the right of review adds a controversial element to the weekend, and the season is about to get intense with a packed schedule of races ahead. Fans eagerly await the action to resume, and this weekend’s Sprint event in Baku promises to deliver all the thrills and excitement that F1 is known for.