Formula 1 introduces a new weekend sprint race
Less training, more “real work”
It was already in the air and now it’s official: Formula 1 is coming with a different kind of sprint race this weekend. The first Grand Prix with the new sprint program will take place in Azerbaijan next weekend, and five more will follow this season.
After an exceptionally long break during the season, it will be time to play in Formula 1 next weekend. Baku is the first sprint weekend of the year and it will immediately be one on a different program than we are used to. As a rumor spread in March, Formula 1 is running a different programme.
The sprint weekend now looks like this: On Friday, there’s the first free practice and then qualifying for the Grand Prix on Sunday. This qualifying is just like you’re used to from a regular race weekend, it’s only Friday. But on Saturday there will be another qualifier. This is a “Sprint Shootout” with shorter qualifying sessions. Q1 is twelve minutes long, Q2 is ten minutes and Q3 is eight minutes long. This qualification sets the starting grid for the 100km sprint race, which will be held later on Saturday. The sprint result has no consequences for Sunday’s Grand Prix, although you can, for example, incur a grid penalty in a sprint race that continues into a Grand Prix. Again, there are points to be earned in the sprint, just like last year. This means that the winner scores eight points, the runner-up seven points, and so on until eighth place.
Aside from Baku, there are five locations where a sprint weekend is planned this season: Austria, Belgium, Qatar, USA (Austin) and Brazil. This new sprint format is also in effect on weekends. Below you can see the schedule for the upcoming weekend:
| date | a class | time (NL) |
| Friday 28th April | Free training | 11.30 – 12.30 |
| Friday 28th April | Qualification (for general practitioner) | 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM |
| Saturday 29th April | Penalty shootout | 10.30 – 11.14 |
| Saturday 29th April | Sprint race | 15.30 – 16.00 |
| Sunday 30th April | Grand prize | 13.00 |
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