Brundle: Points a 'juicy incentive' for drivers in sprint race

Sky Sports Martin Brundle believes that a grid slot and points on offer for the top-three in Sprint Qualifying will encourage drivers to pull out the stops in the Saturday afternoon race.

This weekend's British Grand Prix will see the first trial of F1's Sprint Qualifying format in which drivers will battle in a short 30-minute race on Saturday for their spot on the grid of Sunday's main event.

However, a three-two-one points system will also be awarded to the top three finishing contenders of the sprint race.

Ahead of the format's first trial, views have differed among drivers on how the racing will pan out, with seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton predicting a train of cars and a procession while others are keeping an open mind about the concept's prospects.

Brundle believes that when the lights go out, racers will be racers and every driver in the field will be focused on giving it his all.

"I think there is some concern that drivers might just take it easy and take it cautiously, but I think when the lights go out and the adrenaline is pumping they are going to want to try and maximise the opportunity,"the former F1 driver told Sky F1.

"No doubt the engineers will have formed some kind of cunning plan, as they love structured, data-driven solutions. They live by the data and we live by the racing, so I’m hoping the drivers will go like hell.

"Drivers desperately want fourth place on the grid instead of fifth normally so why wouldn’t they want fourth place in the sprint instead of fifth?"

Brundle suggests that the determination on Sundays on the part of some drivers to snatch an extra point for fastest lap is a windown into how they will approach sprint qualifying.

"Look how hard they go hunting for that extra one point for the fastest lap in the race," he argued.

"They risk a pit stop to fly around the track on another set of tyres to get one additional point. So the three-two-one points system in the sprint for the top three positions is enough of a juicy incentive without it being a fundamental impact on the championship.

"Obviously, our worst-case scenario would be somebody winning the world championship on a Saturday afternoon, but I don’t see these events being near the end of the season.

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

"Personally, I would use it more at places like Paul Ricard where we tend to have reasonably dull races. But then the 2022 cars have been designed to fix that from what we are told.

"I can understand why the top teams are less enthusiastic because it can only be a problem for them if you think about it.

"If they can do their normal three sessions of testing through practice, go into qualy and start at the front and disappear into the distance, why would they want the jeopardy of another start and the potential of wheel-banging or losing a front wing? They love certainty.

"But I do believe that grid position, the points on offer and just the honour and competitive spirit of everybody will make drivers and teams go for it."

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