For the 2023 season, Formula 1 has six Sprint weekends that will change the usual schedule. But what’s a Sprint Race and how it works?
This weekend, F1 will land in SPA with the F1 Sprint Race weekend, the third one on the calendar after the Grand Prix in Azerbaijan and in Austria. What is an F1 Sprint and what are the main changes during the F1 Sprint weekends?
Busy weekend coming up 👀
Make sure you don't miss any of the action 🗓️#BelgianGP #F1 pic.twitter.com/Q1KDqoi5od
— Formula 1 (@F1) July 25, 2023
What’s a Sprint Race?
The F1 Sprint is a short F1 race of 100 km, without pit-stops and without tyre changes. It also assigns points to the first eight drivers on the finish line. The starting grid will be established by the results of the Sprint Shootout, three qualifying sessions held on Saturday morning.
The results of the Sprint Race will not determine the starting grid of the Sunday race.
The top eight drivers of the Sprint will have some points that will be added to the drivers’ championship. The order will be 8 points for the first place, 7 points for the second, 6 for the third and so on. At the end of the Sprint, there will be no podium or any champagne celebration, but the winner will receive a small award in the parc fermé.
The new format of the Sprint Shootout
For the 2023 season, Saturdays during the Sprint weekend will have a new schedule entirely dedicated to the mini-race.
Instead of the FP3, we will have the Sprint Shootout in the morning, the quali sessions that will set the starting grid for the Sprint in the evening. These will be shorter than the usual qualiyfing session:
- Q1 will be 12 minutes long
- Q2 will be 10 minutes long
- Q3 will be 8 minutes long
For tires, during the Shootout, the team will have to use medium compounds for Q1 and Q2, soft compounds for Q3.
Introducing… Sprint Saturday ✨
🗓️ All-new weekend format
👀 Saturday's Sprint sessions do not affect the Grand Prix
⏱️ Friday's qualifying sets Sunday's grid
🆕 New Sprint Shootout qualifying sessionThe first Sprint Saturday is only four days away! 📅#F1Sprint pic.twitter.com/vPq9kYuyH4
— Formula 1 (@F1) April 25, 2023
How will the race weekend change?
With the new format, the Sprint will be a real mini-Grand Prix, fully independent of the rest of the weekend.
This brings some changes in the traditional race weekend’s schedule. FP1 session will be on Friday, followed by qualifying for Sunday. Saturday will be entirely dedicated to the Sprint Shootout and the F1 Sprint Race while the actual race will be on Sunday as usual. In this way, the Sprint will not interfere with the Sunday race by no means, including the possible penalties that could be assigned on Saturday.
Rules for the Sprint Race
The Sprint Race does not mandate the need to change tires or pit-stops. This means that the drivers can finish the race with the same compound with which they started it. The teams will have access to two sets of tyre and there are no limits on fuel consumption either.
How long is a Sprint Race and which GP will have it?
The Sprint is around 100 km long so it will last from 25 to 30 minutes. This format was approved for six races in the F1 2023 calendar: in Azerbaijan, Austria, Belgium, Qatar, USA GP at CotA and in Brazil.
