F1
There will be no rookie sprint race in 2024
Isack Hadjar and the others will not be able to show themselves during the rookie sprint in 2024. © Eric Alonso / DPPI
Given the progress of the project and the discussions held in recent weeks, it is a bit of a surprise. The mini sprint weekend reserved for rookies and which was to take place this season following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the scene of the end of the season of F1, will ultimately not take place in 2024, the FIA announced.
The announcement is all the more surprising since, according to our information, some young drivers had been informed by their respective teams of their participation in this race scheduled for the United Arab Emirates next December. Organized in the premises of the Racing Bulls factory in Italy, the F1 Commission meeting put an end to the hopes of the young drivers who dreamed of showing themselves in two months, at the twilight of the current season.
See you in 2025 for the rookies sprint?
As a reminder, the idea was to give young talents a chance to show their potential in a race situation, the paddock having noted that the free practice sessions 1 reserved for them were far from sufficient to promote the rookies. At the end of the end-of-season tests, the sprint event in question was to be structured around a free practice session, a qualifying session and a race of less than 100 km.
Although the project received theoretical support from the vast majority of teams, it was the organisational arrangements that made it impossible to organise the event in 2024, due to changes in the budget cap, the mobilisation of additional human and logistical resources in an already exhausting season, not to mention the issues related to TV broadcasting and the potential costs involved.
«While the concept received broad support, it was determined that due to scheduling and organizational constraints, the event would not take place in 2024, and discussions will continue to formulate a potential concept and plan for 2025.”, confirmed an FIA spokesperson. Too bad for Isack Hadjar, in particular, who was due to take part in the race at the wheel of the RB20 of Max Verstappen.
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Jeremy Satis
Deputy Digital Editor & F1 Reporter
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Yves-Henri RANDIER
02/10/2024 at 10:21 a.m.
"While the concept received broad support, it was determined that due to scheduling and organizational constraints, the event would not take place in 2024 and discussions will continue to formulate a potential concept and plan for 2025." What a nice way to say that this is annoying! We bet it will never see the light of day?