Despite the location of the first Formula 1 sprint race weekend of the 2023 season being met with hostility from some Team Principals , Frederic Vasseur says all the teams were happy with the planned format changes. An extra qualifying session will be added to determine the grid for the sprint, instead of having a second practice session on Saturday. This means there is only one hour-long practice session for the entire weekend, which Vasseur believes will be more "dynamic" for fans. "I think all the teams were aligned, it's not very often that it has been the case, but I think that we have to jump on it," he said to media, including RacingNews365.com . "For sure the format is more dynamic, but at the end of the day, I think that we are all aligned that we have to push for it." With Baku being a high speed circuit with tight corners, Alpine Team Principal Otmar Szafnauer has claimed the team is using the break between Melbourne and Azerbaijan to stock up on spare parts .
Vasseur: F1 probably the only sport that puts training on TV
The change was prompted amid wider discussions about the overall weekend format, with F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali looking to make sessions more important for teams. Vasseur believes that fans would benefit from each session being catered to offering action, as most often will not know what the teams are doing in practice sessions due to the fuel loads and power unit settings giving a false impression of performance. "I like the format, I'm not big fan of the usual FP2 because sometimes it's a bit boring, not for us because we have a lot of data [to get through]," he explained. "But I can imagine for the spectators if you don't know about the level of fuel or engine modes, it's probably a bit boring. So to try to have something more dynamic on the weekend is a good decision." Vasseur makes the point that F1 broadcasts the practice sessions, whereas other sports such as football elect to not show training sessions on TV. He added: "It's true that if you watch football you are not watching the session on Wednesday when they are training in the stadium, we are probably the only sport on TV that put the training session on TV."
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