For the third time this season, a Formula One Grand Prix weekend included a sprint. This time, the short race took place in the picturesque Belgian town of Spa, on the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Unfortunately, even the beauty of the landscape couldn’t cover the fact that the event was, above all else, painfully boring.
What happened during the sprint was… Not much at all. On Friday, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri beat all the other drivers and took the coveted sprint pole. Max Verstappen was second quickest, so the two of them lined up together on the front row of the grid.
Soon after the sprint began, Verstappen managed a beautiful overtake and moved past Piastri, claiming an early lead. The move took place during the very first lap and was by far the most interesting moment of the short race. For the following 14 laps, Piastri did all he could to catch up to the Red Bull, but he was never quite close enough to reclaim P1. As a result, although no one knew it at the time, the fight for the win was resolved on the first straight.
There wasn’t much more excitement in the rest of the field. Charles Leclerc, who began the race fourth, overtook Lando Norris on lap one. The McLaren driver reclaimed his position by lap four and, just like that, their fight was over before a third of the race had passed. Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso switched places, while Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Antonelli managed to move up two and one spot, respectively.
The disappointing sprint brings forward many questions. The first question is: Should sprint races remain part of Formula One’s calendar? While they can be a good chance for drivers to score some additional points, they are not nearly as exciting as Sunday’s Grand Prix. Drivers don’t push as hard, knowing that there is a qualifying session only a few hours after the sprint, and the lack of pit stops eliminates the strategic component of the race. On top of that, with only eight drivers scoring points instead of the usual ten, there is much less incentive for midfield fights. The risk is not equal to the reward.
The second question, more related to the weekend at hand, is: Is Spa the best track to host a sprint? General issues with the sprint races aside, while Spa is a great, historic track, it is not suitable for the sprint format. Overtaking on it is quite hard, due to the size of the modern F1 cars, meaning that any race can easily turn into a less-than-exciting procession. This isn’t as big of an issue during Sunday’s Grand Prix, when strategies and pit stops offset the overtaking hardships, but the shorter format makes the issues painfully prominent.
If the sprints are to stay in the sport, they should only be held on tracks that can handle their format. They should only happen on less constricting tracks that provide ample overtaking possibilities. That way, they can turn into something both fans and drivers look forward to, rather than something they dread to see on the calendar.
The historic Spa-Francorchamps should never host the shorter race again, and instead focus on providing all Formula One fans with tense qualifying sessions and memorable Grand Prix. When it comes to this weekend, not all hope for excitement is lost. The sessions thus far were only a prelude to the main event. Sunday’s Grand Prix can still redeem Spa’s good name.
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