Formula 1 is back this weekend and promises to shake things up with the first sprint weekend of the season. With many teams bringing upgrades to the track, they’ll have more than the normal race distance to see how they perform. However, the sprint format has changed from last year, with Formula 1 testing out a new style of qualifying this weekend.

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1. New Sprint Format

The Sprint format from last year effectively replaced traditional qualifying. While some people thought it was more exciting, others felt that it diminished the Grand Prix on Sunday by having a race on Saturday. The new Sprint weekend has evolved to make Saturday its own mini-event. Traditional qualifying will take place on Friday, with the results setting up the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Saturday morning will kick off with the Sprint Shootout, replacing the timeslot for FP3. This shootout will consist of SQ1, SQ2, and SQ3, which are 12, 10, and 8 minutes respectively. Drivers in SQ1 and SQ2 will have to use medium tyres. The slowest five drivers in SQ1 and SQ2 will be eliminated, with the remaining ten going for pole position on soft tyres.

The results of the Sprint Shootout will set the grid for the Sprint Race later on Saturday. The top 8 finishers will all receive points, with the winner taking home 8 points. The rest of the field will take home 1 less point all the way to P8, which will earn 1 point.

2. Mercedes Upgrades

Mercedes has been very vocal about their performance this year. While the Brackley team was frustrated in third place at the season opener, it seems as though understanding the car more put them even with Aston Martin in second place.

Mercedes has made some notable adjustments to its operations team, bringing back some key figures that were heavily influential during its eight seasons of dominance. Additionally, Sir Lewis Hamilton noted that there would be a few upgrades on the car this weekend, highlighting the new direction that the team wants to embrace.

While the major update is still expected for Imola, this minor upgrade could see the team leap over Aston Martin and put some pressure on the Red Bulls.

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3. McLaren’s B-Spec

McLaren shocked the entire paddock with an incredibly troublesome car in Bahrain. The first few races went horribly wrong, with Lando Norris saying that it was half the car and half bad luck.

Regardless of the excuses, McLaren announced that they would bring a major upgrade package to Baku. CEO Zak Brown noted after the first race in Bahrain that Papaya fans should wait and see the B-Spec that should be ready by Baku.

4. Safety Car Probability

Baku is a fast street track that doesn’t have the smoothest surface out there. The porpoising cars of last year proved how tricky the track can be when you mix the bumpy surface with such a high-speed track.

Formula 1 predicts that there’s a 50% chance of the Safety Car coming out during this race. When you add the Sprint races into the mix, we may see even more interruptions.

However, it’s important to remember that Safety Car periods give teams a chance to alter their strategies for the race. This can leave some teams with a major advantage. In this way, it’s bound to shake things up and introduce more excitement to the race.