Austin qualifiers postponed for Justin Timberlake concert

For several years, F1 has partnered with artists to offer concerts during race weekends in order to expand the sport’s overall audience. Last year, Taylor Swift performed her only concert of the year during the weekend in Austin.

This year, the Circuit of the Americas will offer two concerts, with Justin Timberlake on Saturday, then Stevie Wonder on Sunday. However, Liberty Media has decided to change the timing of the qualifying sessions. Bringing the track session and the concert closer together aims to encourage F1 fans to stay for the concert and also entice the singer’s fans to attend the qualifying sessions.

If the intention is commendable, it nonetheless has a significant impact on the teams. Indeed, it extends the gap between the end of free practice 3 and the qualifying session by two hours, for a total of four hours. This could prompt the larger teams to plan for part changes that they traditionally do not have time to make in just two hours.

Moreover, by delaying the qualifications by two hours, it equally pushes back the end of the day for the mechanics. Yet, Saturday is normally the day when they can benefit from a bit of rest due to the Parc Fermé rule.

The fear is also that this creates a precedent and opens the door for other developers to make similar requests, which could disrupt their routine and thus their optimal functioning.

With the participation of www.racingbusiness.fr