Why F1’s pole records could be about to become meaningless

Silverstone will be the first trial of Formula 1's new sprint race format on Saturday, which sets the grid for Sunday's British Grand Prix. But one key decision means the history books will be unnecessarily warped for this and other repeat experiments.

Kevin Turner Jul 10, 2021, 6:41 PM

Upd: Jul 12, 2021, 3:43 PM

Many of Formula 1’s recent ideas and experiments are to be welcomed. The qualifying sprint race, which will be first tried at the 2021 British Grand Prix, is a worthy attempt to spice-up the weekend. But one decision is baffling.

F1 boss Ross Brawn recently revealed that the winner of the sprint race will be officially credited with pole position in the history books.

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Author Kevin Turner

Kevin Turner is Autosport’s Chief Editor. While studying History at the University of York, Kevin began covering UK club events as a freelance reporter for Autosport and Motorsport News. He joined the Autosport staff as Editorial Assistant on the magazine in 2006, winning what is now known as the Motorsport UK Young Journalist of the Year Award. He became National Editor in 2008 and over the next few seasons covered a range of international events, including the Le Mans 24 Hours, as well as the British Touring Car Championship and British GT. Kevin became Features Editor before switching to edit Motorsport News in 2014.

He returned to Autosport in 2016 to become editor of the magazine, a dream job that is still part of his role.

He became Chief Editor in 2020, helping to plan content for autosport.com and Autosport’s podcast as well as seeing the magazine through the coronavirus pandemic. Kevin also led work on the special publication celebrating 70 years of Autosport and has been a judge on the Aston Martin Autosport BRDC Young Driver Award, formerly known as the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award, since 2008. He lives in Fleet with his wife and two children.