F1 to revive wreath celebrations for Sprint race victors

Formula 1 will revisit its glorious past at Silverstone when it brings back the traditional victor's wreath and a lap of honour for Saturday's sprint race event.

Grand Prix racing will trial its innovative Sprint Qualifying format for the first time at this weekend's British Grand Prix.

The race will take place over 17 laps - or approximately 30 minutes – and while the winner won't be added to F1's official stats, he'll get more than bragging rights for his efforts.

The event's top three drivers will receive respectively 3, 2 and 1 championship point but the trio will also be adorned with a personalized wreath and treated to a lap of honour to salute Silverstone's 100,000 plus the fans, just like in the good old days.

"F1 Sprint is a brand-new and exciting format, so we felt it was important to come up with a post-race moment that was equally special," said director of event spectacle for F1 Alex Molina, that impeccably suited man we see at the end of every race who guides drivers to the podium.

"The moment recognises the seven decades of history in the sport and combines it with a modern twist – very similar to the Sprint itself."

• Read also: F1 won't 'force through' sprint races if unsuccessful - Brawn

A few drivers, including Lewis Hamilton, fear that Saturday's rush will amount to little more than a boring procession.

But Ross Brawn reiterated his belief that F1's drivers will pull out the stops and battle for all their worth in the 30-minute run.

"I guess a driver always drives within a certain limit whenever they’re on the track, because they don’t want to damage the equipment," said F1's managing director of motorsport.

"But you’re sat there in second or third and you’re driving conservatively and everyone’s overtaking you, what are you going to do? You’re going to battle, you’re going to compete.

"There’s no way these guys are going to cruise round on a Saturday afternoon."

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