How would the rookie race in Abu Dhabi, planned for the end of the 2024 season, be organized?

Will we have a 31st race of F1 in this 2024 season? After the 24 Grands Prix and the 6 Sprint races planned for the championship, the idea of ​​a final non-championship round between rookie drivers continues to make its way through the paddock. This could even come to fruition quickly, while it was initially planned for next season, in 2025The enthusiasm generated by this unprecedented "experiment" in Formula 1 is pushing the discipline and the teams to work on the organization of this special rookie Sprint race after - or during? - the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend (December 6-8), the scene of the last meeting of the 2024 campaign.

“It’s like everything in life, if you want it to happen, you make it happen.”, explained Christian Horner, Team Principal of Red Bull and in favour of a Sprint weekend for inexperienced drivers, on the sidelines of the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. I think there has been a clear directive to get the work done this year. That obviously puts pressure on the sporting working groups and the various team principals to work with the FIA ​​to come up with a regulation. I think by adopting the Sprint racing regulations primarily, it is eminently doable. It doesn't have to be overly complicated."

Ten cars, 30 minutes race

The British leader gave some details on the possible organization of this "rookie Sprint weekend", which would be condensed into a single day. Each team would only enter one car, which means that the grid would only be made up of ten drivers in total. For qualifying, there would therefore not be three qualifying sessions, but only one, the duration of which remains to be determined. The regulations would then be the same as those used for F1 sprint races. The race, for its part, would include a number of laps equivalent to 30 minutes of racing, like a classic Sprint again.

The idea of ​​a Sprint race for rookie drivers, launched in August, received the approval of Formula 1 and all the teams. An opportunity to see the young talents in action and in a racing situation in order to assess their potential against rivals, and to avoid the seen and reviewed programs of post-season tests.

“It’s something I’ve proposed in the last F1 commissions because I think it’s great for young drivers, Christian Horner points out. The problem with some of the Rookie Tests is that [the drivers] are all used to testing. You never know if they're running on 50 kilos, 70 kilos of fuel, what engine mode they're using. So I think this race, a non-championship round for junior drivers, is a fantastic opportunity. It comes at the end of a busy season, but instead of people burning fuel and tyres and only the teams that run those drivers know whether they're doing a good job or not, to give potentially ten rookies the opportunity to get into the current cars and have the equivalent of a Sprint race, I think is fantastic."

F1 teams all in favour

Words that resonated with his two colleagues and press conference companions sitting next to him, Ayao Komatsu (Haas) and Alessandro Alunni Bravi (Sauber). "I think it's very good, said the Japanese director. Post-season testing, if you don't do that kind of thing, it's just a tyre test. So I think it adds value to the day and makes it more exciting, and it's an opportunity to get a young driver in the car. It's such a rare opportunity for young drivers to get into an F1 car these days, so I think it's a really interesting initiative."

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