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"These compact race weekends, we like this challenge of getting everything sorted in only one session before you're heading into qualifying. And in the end, I think if it helps to save running costs for us teams, if it helps to reduce the number of days being away from home for our guys in the team and if it works out with F1, obviously with all their contracts, it's definitely something we would support a lot."
McLaren team principal Andreas Seidl was one of the many paddock figures asked for their verdict on Formula 1's trial of a two-day format for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at Imola last weekend. Without the luxury of two sessions on Friday, teams had their work cut out to condense their run plans to a single 90-minute session before qualifying, in which they had to conduct a proper assessment of tyre wear on the three tyre options, as well as finding a good set-up for qualifying.
Of course, the format had already been forced upon teams at last month's Eifel GP due to heavy rain and fog forcing the cancellation of the normal Friday practices, but this was the first time it had been implemented by design.
