Don't ever let anyone tell you that the format of a Formula 1 weekend doesn't matter. Free practice may not seem like the most exciting session to watch, but it's far from trivial for the team.

Now, we're sure that we don't need to explain that to any of you, but what about the impact that a Sprint race has on how we prepare during a weekend? Given the significance of the three sessions to teams and when they usually take place, it's an important question.

Since 2006, there's always been three practice sessions before the race, but as of 2021, that is no longer always the case. For most weekends, the format remains unchanged, with FP1 and FP2 taking place on Friday and FP3 on Saturday ahead of qualifying.

But for a Sprint event, like in Austria this weekend, the format changes and teams have just one hour of practice on a Friday ahead of qualifying. There's a second session on Saturday morning ahead of the Sprint, but they cannot make any further changes to the car by this point as it's locked down in parc ferme conditions.

All that means a lot of work in a short space of time, so how do teams navigate this? We spoke to Strategy & Sporting Director Randy Singh to find out.

"For a Sprint event, we use each of the sessions in a very different way," explained Randy. "In FP1 the big decisions we face are what tyres we keep for qualifying and how we get the car ready. Because the car gets locked down as soon as we leave the pit-lane in qualifying, we have to get all of our work in before then.

"We need to ensure all the cooling and everything works for Saturday and Sunday for the Sprint and the race. It will be exciting to see the new cars go round. Hopefully, it will stay dry, and we can see them go for the ultimate lap time."

That doesn't mean that Saturday's practice session is inconsequential. There's still a lot to be learned from FP2, and it's far more than just a joyful jaunt around the Styrian hills.

"FP2 on Saturday morning is a high-fuel practice," Randy continues. "The focus on Saturday is on coming up with the best strategies for the Sprint and the race. We'll do a lot of our learning in FP2 tomorrow, to see how the tyres behave."

Up in the mountains, with elevation changes of 63.3 metres from the lowest to the highest point, the weather can change at a moment's notice, as we saw his rainfall early on Friday. This provides yet another challenge for the team to consider.

But if the rain does stay away, what can we expect from the 2022 cars?

"The new car should be very quick around here," Randy concluded. "It is a very high-speed circuit, and the new cars are very well designed with the underfloor downforce to help with that.

"But it is quite wet at the moment, and one of the key things about Austria is that because we are up in the mountains, the weather is always really unpredictable."

Qualifying begins at 17:00 local time. You can follow all of the Austrian GP action throughout the weekend with LIVE commentary on the McLaren App.

Join the team

McLaren Plus is our free-to-join fan engagement programme, bringing McLaren fans closer to the team with the most inclusive, rewarding and open-to-all fan programmes in motorsport.

Sign up now, or current members can amend their details in the form below if necessary.