The Uralkali Haas F1 Team go into this weekends British Grand Prix with the hotly anticipated prospect of racing on Saturday and Sunday, a brand new challenge for the entire field, not just for Haas rookies Mick Schumacher and Nikita Mazepin.
This weekend will see the first trial of a brand new weekend format, with qualifying taking place on Friday evening to set the grid for a 100km sprint race on Saturday afternoon. The finishing order of the sprint race will then make up the grid for the main race on Sunday.
Guenther Steiner, Team Principal of the Uralkali Haas F1 Team is looking forward to the experiment and is expecting both of his drivers to race hard in both races, despite this season being all about learning.
“I am looking forward to it because it’s something new and something new always gives opportunity and hopefully we can be a part of that. I think the success will be if the fans like it. At the moment I think it’s a good format but if there’s something we can enhance, and the fans embrace it, that would be good and then I would say let’s do more of it.
“I think for sure the drivers will race hard because in qualifying everyone races hard and this is like a sprint race which defines the qualifying positions. On Sunday, when points are at stake, you want to be in the best position to start the race as you can.
“From our side, this year it’s all about learning so running the race, having a few more race starts during the year because of sprint qualifying format will be an advantage next year. On the sprint, I will tell them to keep their noses clean and keep the cars on the track.”
