Following Saturday’s Sprint race at the Brazilian Grand Prix, Sergio Perez has called for the format to incorporate reverse grids, with him believing that the current sprint events aren’t working.
Saturday’s sprint race at Interlagos was certainly far from a thriller, with overtaking having only been possible at the opening corner and Turn 4.
Max Verstappen – who is the biggest critic of sprint races – won comfortably, whilst Perez overtook George Russell to finish fourth.
Once ahead of the Mercedes driver, Perez simply managed his tyres for the remainder of the sprint.
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Interlagos is the only circuit to have held a sprint race in all three years since they were introduced in 2021; however, Saturday’s edition was by far the worst of the trio.
The drivers are torn over whether the sprints are a positive addition to the sport or a negative, with the paddock very much being divided.
Verstappen is entirely against them and has called once again for them to be scrapped and to return to the traditional schedule for every round.
Perez also believes that the sprint format isn’t working and that currently “nothing really happens”, which is why he thinks reversing the grid for the shortened race is the right solution.
“I think if they want to get this format of Sprint races, we’ve got to change it,” Perez said, as reported by Motorsport Week.
“I would propose a reverse grid, something like that to make it more interesting for the fans, because I don’t think it’s working, what we want to achieve. And yeah, nothing really happens in these sorts of races.
Perez added: “I think it would mix up things and create more opportunities, a lot more overtaking. I mean, if we want to keep this format, give it a go on something quite different. Because I think for the last two years this sort of event hasn’t brought a lot of good racing.”
Lando Norris was also asked for how he thinks the sprint format can be improved, after he finished in P2.
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Interestingly, the McLaren driver failed to answer how they could be made more exciting, as he believes the drivers don’t get a say on the matter.
“On the topic of Sprints? Nope. I don’t know, it doesn’t matter what we say,” Norris admitted.
“Our choices rarely have much effect with anything. Especially with this. So, everything seems dictated by team bosses and what they want to do and what they choose to do.”