Ferrari and Aston Martin support Sprint Weekends rule change

Ferrari and Aston Martin representatives have expressed their support for the idea of rule changes regarding parc fermé during Formula 1 sprint weekends.

For Ferrari, this is entirely understandable, as their driver Charles Leclerc fell victim to these rules at the United States Grand Prix. The Monegasque driver, along with Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes, was disqualified from the race in Austin after their control planks were found to be worn beyond the allowed limits. Following the incidents at the Circuit of the Americas, both Ferrari and Mercedes stated that parc fermé rules were one of the reasons for their disqualifications. During sprint weekends, parc fermé restrictions come into effect after just a 60-minute practice session, which is not always sufficient for fine-tuning the exact settings.

If a team decides to make more significant changes to the settings afterward, the respective driver is sent to start from the pit lane. In Austin, Ferrari and Mercedes took the risk of not making changes, and ultimately, it cost them dearly.

That’s why Scuderia’s team principal, Frederic Vasseur, called for a slight relaxation of parc fermé during sprint weekends.

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“I will say that I would be very happy if we block parc fermé after the disqualification in Austin. The problem is that we have only one practice session to set up the car – cooling and suspension height. Sometimes, if you have a problem in that session or even if the driver doesn’t use the line he will use later in the weekend, it’s very difficult, and you’re going in blind.

“It would be good to open parc fermé, but perhaps with some limitations. But definitely, we should be able to work on cooling and height,” explained Vasseur.

Aston Martin’s Performance Director, Tom McCullough, shares a similar stance with Vasseur. “We need to continue the evolution of the rules to achieve what we want. We allow certain things to be changed. We can change brake material and other minor things.

“Obviously, we can’t change the plank, so we have to make quite important decisions after a very short time on the track. Sometimes the weather, the wind, and a long straight can mess up the calculations made for three days ahead. So for me, a rule change would be welcome from an engineering point of view, but I don’t think we should completely remove parc fermé,” stated McCullough.