A wave of rookies are about to enter Formula 1. Franco Colapinto, easily the most unexpected entry to the grid, will be the first. Oliver Bearman, Kimi Antonelli and Jack Doohan will follow him on next year’s grid. In an effort to give young drivers even more opportunities, F1 is considering a rookie spring after the Abu Dhabi GP.
F1 evaluate rookie Sprint Race
Traditionally, a post-season test is what follows the season finale in Abu Dhabi.
This event typically involves many Formula 2 drivers, who complete dozens of laps for their respective teams.
For those seen as future F1 prospects, these sessions are a good opportunity to get some F1 experience. They also give teams a chance to collect data on their academy drivers.
However, F1 is considering a more competitive environment to give young talents running time next season:
“We are thinking about how we can give young people the opportunity to shine and gain experience during the tests in Yas Marina,” explains F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
“That would certainly be helpful to prepare them for the next step.
“We will be talking about this in detail by the end of September to understand the feasibility of this idea.”
Over recent years, various ideas have been floated, many of which have been opposed by F1 fans.
However, the initial reactions to this proposition are overwhelmingly positive.
Not only could a post-season Sprint event provide a more competitive, realistic environment for young drivers to gain experience, but it does not infringe on traditional F1 weekends.
Of course, there is still a long way to go before this idea is agreed to and implemented. Teams will undoubtedly be cautious about the prospect of incurring crash damages after the season has finished.
Then again, the last few seasons have seen a surprising willingness from teams to entertain new ideas.
