F1 is considering making further changes to the sprint race format at the upcoming F1 Commission meeting on Friday with the possibility of a second parce ferme becoming part of the race weekend structure. This will come as a relief to Red Bull boss Christian Horner, who described the rules regarding making changes to cars as 'a joke'.
The F1 Commission meeting that took place on Monday already created some concrete changes for the 2024 season with a new sprint weekend format concocted. Under the new layout, Friday will contain the FP1 and the sprint shootout, which will be followed by the sprint race and then qualifying on Saturday. The Grand Prix will remain on Sunday.
According to a report from Motorsport.com, to go along with these changes, teams could be afforded a second parc ferme window. Previously, any changes made after the sprint shootout would force teams to start their driver from the pitlane during the Grand Prix.
The previous sprint weekend parc ferme rules were extremely unpopular. Expressing his frustrations last year, Horner said: "For me, parc ferme is a bit of a joke. You have one session to set your car up. And then the engineers may as well go home at that point.
"So, that needs looking at and that I'm sure was a contributing factor to the ride height issues of the teams that fell foul of the regulations. Effectively, it's just a long run on a sprint race. And there's no real jeopardy to it, there's no real incentive behind it."
The complications caused by the rigid parc ferme rules were put on show for all to see at the United States Grand Prix when both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified after Sunday's race due to excessive plank wear.
F1 considering major changes to rule that Christian Horner blasted as 'a joke' (msn.com)
