Both Lando Norris and Yuki Tsunoda will not take part in the final part of the new Sprint Shootout session, after a loophole emerged in the regulations. Under the new regulations drivers must use one set of Medium tyres in the first and second part (SQ1 and SQ2) of the Shootout, then a set of new Softs in the third part (SQ3). The intention was for teams to save new sets out of their allocation to use on Saturday, however there is nothing written to say that teams must comply with this, meaning they can use these sets if they wish to do so earlier in the weekend.
Teams take calculated risk
Article 30.5, part four of the regulations states: “In the period SQ3 of the Sprint Shootout, up to one set of dry-weather tyres may be used, and this must only be a new set of the Soft specification.” Both Norris and Tsunoda have used their entire allocation of Soft tyres during the two sessions on Friday, having both reached Q3 and taking seventh and eighth on the grid of the Grand Prix on Sunday. But if either of them ends up reaching the third part of the Sprint Shootout, they will be unable to take part due to not having a "new set of the Soft specification" available. This means they would only be able to start as high as ninth or 10th place. It was a calculated risk from the teams as they looked to improve their chances of starting higher up on the grid for the actual Grand Prix, with Norris admitting that he could have started as high as fourth with the extra set advantage .
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