Carlos Sainz proposes radical idea to change F1 race weekends

Carlos Sainz is open to F1 radically changing Sprint weekends to try and enliven the shorter race after a series of dull events.

A major criticism handed towards Sprint events has been that as drivers often use the medium tyres for them, they are an effective replica of the first stint of the grand prix itself, with soft tyres seldom used in the opening leg of the main grand prix. 

Sainz, who banked Williams' best-ever Sprint result of third in the United States last time out believes F1 should mandate the use of the softest rubber for the Sprint race and not be afraid to experiment further with the alternate format, including "not being opposed" to the idea of reversed grids.

"You might get a wet race in Canada or a shower in Singapore, and it turns out to be the best Sprint in history," Sainz told media, including RacingNews365. 

"It's more the format change that I think is required for the Sprint, and I think Stefano is open to doing that. 

"Right now, the Sprint, I'm not a big fan, because it unveils what the first thing stint on Sunday is going to be like, because qualifying is the same format as on Sundays. I would rather have different ideas around the Sprint, so it doesn't reveal so much about the race.

"One simple idea could be to make sure everyone does the Sprint race on soft tyres, which is a high-deg tyre. 

"Normally, on a very few numbers of tracks, we choose the soft for the first stint of the race, and that could be a very easy, short-term solution, and also because we are throwing five sets of tyres in the bin. 

"Every week, we put one lap on soft tyres in qualifying, and then we give them back, and I don't know where Pirelli stores them, but for us, it is a one-lap tyre, so that could be an easy fix.

"But probably it requires something a bit more spicy, and the Sprint race should be a bit more spicy, and it should be a good opportunity to maybe experiment with different formats, to be open-minded and if it works, great, and if it doesn't, change it again like we did in the past.

"I am not a big fan of reversed grid, but I wouldn't be completely opposed to trying something different, and Sprint Qualifying could be different, with maybe a superpole in SQ3. You should just keep adding something different and keep trying different things. 

"If it works, great, and it's better for the format, but if it doesn't, don't be scared to say, put it in the bin, acknowledge it didn't work, and try something different."