F1 teams support key Sprint race weekend tweak

Ferrari Team Principal Frederic Vasseur has supported a keyregulation change for Sprint race weekends in Formula 1. CharlesLeclerc was thrown out of the US Grand Prix along with LewisHamilton for excessive skid block wear, brought on by the bumpyCircuit of the Americas. Parc Ferme limits the amount of timesteams can alter their setups between sessions, and if a team chosesto make any changes they must start from the pit lane. Both Ferrariand Mercedes made gamble after noticing the problem after the solepractice session on Friday by electing not to make any furthersetup changes. The FIA noted this as being one of the main factorswhich led to the breach of technical rules, resulting in thedisqualification of Hamilton and Leclerc. Ferrari want to seerelaxation of rules With curfews limiting how long teams can workon cars, which they get two exemptions for in 2024, and a cost capintroduced in 2021, there is now the possibility to ease some ofthe rules surrounding Parc Ferme. Vasseur would support a tweak tothe ruleset for Sprint race weekends, largely due to the amount oftime they have to work on the cars before being thrusted intoqualifying. "I can say that I'm very happy to block the Parc Fermewhen were disqualified in Austin," he told media, includingRacingNews365 . "The issue is that you have only FP1 to do thesetup of the car, for the cooling, for ride height. Sometimes inthe FP1 if you have a small issue or even if the drivers are nottaking the line they will take later into the weekend, it's verydifficult and you are blind. "It's a good one to open Parc Ferme,but perhaps we can discuss about which parameter will be open. Butat least for cooling and ride heights and so, it's the rightdecision to do it." Aston Martin: F1 needs Sprint tweaks AstonMartin Performance Director, Tom McCullough, feels there should besome flexibility for teams to adapt their cars in changingconditions. "It's a matter of evolving the rules to achieve whatwe're all trying to achieve. We allow certain things to be changed.You can change brake material, you can do various bits and bobs,"said McCullough. "Obviously, we can't change the skids and theplank on the car, therefore you've got to make some decisions onvery limited running very early. "There are things like the weathereffects that, a headwind to a tailwind and a big straight caninfluence that and forecasting that three days in advance is tough."So I think tweaks to the regulations are always welcome from anengineering side of things, but I don't think we should get rid ofit."