Brundle on US GP: Disqualifications show Sprint format needs tweaking

Martin Brundle Expert Analyst @MBrundleF1 Martin Brundle on the United States GP: Lewis Hamilton disqualification shows need to tweak Sprint format Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle reviews a United States GP that saw Max Verstappen claim a Sprint and race double, amid plenty of controversy and confusion as Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualified on Sunday evening Last Updated: 24/10/23 6:33am Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Highlights from the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas Highlights from the United States Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas Sky Sports F1's Martin Brundle delivers his expert verdict on a United States GP that saw Max Verstappen made to work extremely hard to complete a Sprint and race double. It was an intriguing and relentless weekend of Formula 1 in Austin, which provided some intense action at times, but created more questions than answers.On the face of it, the results were simply two more victories for Max Verstappen and Red Bull to add to the many this season, but as we have seen more recently, McLaren, Mercedes and Ferrari are hunting them down. Verstappen's mercurial skills and speed are fully required. There's no doubt that the Sprint format events put the teams under a lot of pressure and overall, we don't get particularly positive feedback from them. With just one practice session before the specification and set-up is locked in by Parc Fermé rules, especially at a relatively unknown circuit like Losail in Qatar, or a bumpy circuit such as COTA in Austin, this leaves them underprepared, which is far from ideal with such complex cars.And that's assuming the first practice session has representative weather and they don't have any reliability issues or accidents. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player McLaren's Lando Norris overtook Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to immediately take the lead at the United States Grand Prix McLaren's Lando Norris overtook Ferrari's Charles Leclerc to immediately take the lead at the United States Grand Prix And there's the first question: do we want the jeopardy and variability of some teams missing their ultimate pace, or is this wasting the resource and skills of teams and drivers in a 'not very F1' manner?We had 20 per cent of the field starting the main Sunday race from the pit lane, in the form of both Aston Martins and both Haas cars, because they were better breaking out of Parc Fermė and trying for a more competitive race set up. And from Friday afternoon onwards, with two qualifying sessions and two races to come, some drivers were consigned to a difficult car for the rest of the weekend.This is not ideal or necessary, and while I don't like us to keep messing with the format, we must make some changes for next season and beyond. It's too much of a lottery which has far reaching consequences, as we would find out several hours after the Sunday GP. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player Ted Kravitz is in the paddock to review all the biggest stories from the 2023 United States Grand Prix Ted Kravitz is in the paddock to review all the biggest stories from the 2023 United States Grand Prix Max has a fair point that the Sprint gives you half the story for race day and takes away some anticipation. I'd still much rather watch a Sprint than a free practice session personally.Another issue is that we currently have three different event tyre allocation scenarios, two different qualifying formats, and two different race formats. Teams and media alike have to keep refreshing their memories on the ramifications each weekend - and so what chance do the fans have of remembering it all?Should more cars have been disqualified?Mercedes brought a final upgrade for the season, which was as much about direction for next year's car as this year's performance. Lewis Hamilton, however, grasped the positivity and, on a circuit he relishes, drove the wheels off his steed and could even have won the race, before being disqualified, that is.Post race, his car, along with the Ferrari of Charles Leclerc, was found to have too much wear on the 'plank' underneath it. We've had this system for nearly three decades in a successful attempt to control performance and avoiding the need to replace expensive new carbon fibre floors every day.The plank is made out of reinforced resin and not wood, and can often leave yellow stains on the track at corners like Eau Rouge in Spa. When going onboard with drivers, at higher speeds you can hear the cars scuffing along the ground, and of course the skid blocks permitted to protect and control the wear of the plank often give off sparks. Ple