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via Reuters

via Reuters

F1 Sprint is back! The newest F1 format will make its comeback at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix this week. The format can very well throw a spanner in the works for the F1 teams, as most of the paddock is used to the regular format. Championship leader and Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc revealed that the Sprint weekend at Imola might not favor them.

The Monegasque driver mentioned he had forgotten that there will be a Sprint race this weekend. But he mentioned that there is a high possibility that the Sprint race on Saturday might not favor the Italian team.

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This will be the first Sprint race of the 2022 season and it would be interesting to see how the Saturday race would be with the new cars.

Charles Leclerc is not confident about the Sprint race at Imola

F1 built the new 2022 cars to better wheel-to-wheel racing and help drivers follow each other closely in the races. The first 3 races of the season have seen improved close nail-biting battles, with drivers easily following each other.

So with a narrow track like Imola, it would be fascinating to see how the drivers will battle against each other. Leclerc mentioned he does not know if the Sprint race would be a success at the track or not.

“I had completely forgotten that we have a sprint race there. There are a lot of things that are going to be pretty crazy at Imola for us and obviously, it will also be a race weekend where we have a sprint,” said Charles.

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via Reuters

“Whether it’s good for us or not, whether it’s even good for F1, I don’t know. I think we’ll have the answer after the weekend. With these new F1s too, it’s maybe a bit easier to follow each other, so hopefully, we’ll have an exciting sprint race and Grand Prix together,” said Leclerc.

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It would really be fascinating to see how the teams adjust to the Sprint race this weekend. Ferrari have been strong at every track F1 has visited thus far, so it would not be a leap to say that they will be competitive at the very least.

Moreover, Leclerc will look to extend his lead in the driver’s championship with extra points offered in Sprint. Let’s see how he performs at the first sprint race of the season.