Formula 1 works with a sprint race during several weekends. What is an F1 sprint race, how does a race weekend with a sprint race work and when will sprint races be held in 2024? You can read all that and much more here.

What is an F1 sprint race?

The sprint race in Formula 1 is actually a shortened Grand Prix. The Grand Prix is run on Sunday, just like the sprint race. The sprint race has a length of 100 kilometres, which is about a third of the length of the Grands Prix.

The purpose of the sprint race is mainly to provide more entertainment on the race weekend. Formula 1's owners Liberty Media want more action in a race weekend for fans. Therefore, practice sessions disappeared, to be replaced by an extra qualifying and sprint race.

Sprint races in F1 were experimented with for the first time in 2021. In Britain, Italy and Brazil that year, there was a race weekend with a sprint race. Max Verstappen won the first sprint race during the Grand Prix weekend in Silverstone. After the three sprint races in 2021, another three sprints followed in 2022. In 2023, the number of sprint races was even increased to six.

How does a Formula 1 sprint race work?

The sprint race is run on the Saturday. A separate qualifying session is held before the sprint race: the F1 sprint shootout. The sprint race itself is 100 kilometres long and lasts about 30 minutes. The first eight drivers to cross the finish line are awarded points.

The sprint race has been modified several times over the years. In 2021, the result of the sprint race was still the starting grid for Sunday's Grand Prix. That has not been the case since 2023. Now, qualifying is done separately for the sprint race and the Grand Prix. Also, points are now handed out to eight drivers, where in the early years only three drivers were.

What does the schedule of an F1 weekend with a sprint race look like?

A normal race weekend consists of three practice sessions, a qualifying session and a Grand Prix. The first two practice sessions are held on Friday, the third free practice and qualifying on Saturday, and the Grand Prix is held on Sunday. However, a race weekend with a sprint race has a different schedule.

A sprint race weekend, like a regular race weekend, starts with free practice. In these 60 minutes, drivers and teams have to tune their cars for the rest of the weekend. Indeed, qualifying already follows on Friday afternoon. On Saturday morning is then the sprint shootout. The sprint race is on Saturday afternoon. The Grand Prix is on the Sunday afternoon just like a regular race weekend.

Schedule of a sprint race weekend

Where will sprint races be held in 2024?

Formula 1 has announced the races where a sprint race will be held for the 2024 F1 season. For the first time in history, a sprint race will be staged in China. The Grand Prix of China will return to the F1 calendar in 2024 after years of absence and will immediately be assigned a special race weekend.

The other venues have been the battleground of a sprint race before. Indeed, 2024 sprint races will continue to be held in Miami, Austria, the United States (Austin), Brazil and Qatar.When will F1 sprint races be held in 2024?

The first sprint race will be held in China on Saturday 20 April 2024. The first extra points of the season can be earned on the Saturday of the race weekend in China. Miami will be the second Grand Prix with a sprint race. Then, the sprint race will be held on Saturday 4 May 2024. Austria will host the last sprint race before the winter break on Saturday 29 June 2024.

In this respect, the six sprint races in 2024 are well distributed. The United States Grand Prix will hold another race weekend with a sprint race. The sprint race at the Circuit of the Americas will be held on Saturday 19 October 2024. The sprint race for the Brazilian Grand Prix will be on Saturday 2 November 2024. The final sprint race of the season will be held in Qatar. The last sprint race of the year will be held on Saturday 30 November 2024.

How is the starting grid determined for the sprint race?

The starting grid for the sprint race in 2024 will be determined by the F1 Sprint Shootout. This is the qualification for the sprint race. In the first seasons that the sprint race was used in F1, F1 qualifying determined the starting grid for the sprint race and the result of the sprint race determined the starting grid for the Grand Prix. The winner of the sprint race even got the pole position.

That will no longer be the case in 2024. Pole position will again 'just' go to the F1 driver who sets the fastest time in F1 qualifying. The sprint shootout determines the starting grid for the sprint race and the sprint race is a race in itself. The top eight get points, but the result no longer determines the grid for the race on Sunday.

How does the F1 sprint race shootout work?

Qualifying for the sprint race is called the F1 sprint shootout. Like the sprint race, the F1 sprint shootout is also a shortened version of normal qualifying. Qualifying consists of three parts.

In SQ1, all 20 drivers drive and are given 12 minutes (Q1 is 18 minutes) to set a fast time. The slowest five drivers drop out. In SQ2, the remaining 15 drivers are given 10 minutes (Q2 is 15 minutes) to qualify. Again, the five slowest drivers drop out. In SQ3, the remaining ten drivers compete for pole position for the sprint race. For this, the drivers have eight minutes (Q3 lasts 12 minutes).

Besides the limited time, there is an additional game element to the F1 sprint shootout. This is because the drivers are obliged to drive on the medium tyre in SQ1 and SQ2. Drivers may only use a new or used set of the soft tyre in SQ3.

How many points can you earn from the sprint race?

In 2024, the first eight drivers will get points for the sprint race. In 2021, points were only handed out to the first three drivers. Now there are points for the first eight to cross the finish line, but they are relatively fewer points than the 10 drivers get who cross the finish line first at the Grand Prix on Sunday.

This is how Max Verstappen won the first F1 sprint race

Max Verstappen can call himself the first ever winner of an F1 sprint race. When Formula 1 first experimented with sprint racing in 2021, there was a fierce title battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen. Hamilton grabbed pole for the sprint race in front of his own crowd, but Max outsmarted his rival at the start of the sprint race.

Verstappen did not give away that lead again. The Dutchman got the three points for his victory and pole position for the 2021 British Grand Prix. The Grand Prix, as many will know, did not go as well for Verstappen. Duelling with Hamilton, the two collided at Copse. Verstappen crashed out of the race and had to go to the medical centre. Hamilton got a time penalty, but still won the race.

Who won the sprint races?

After Verstappen's sprint victory in Britain, 11 more sprint races were held. Verstappen proved to be by far the best in these short races. In fact, Verstappen won seven sprint races in three years. Verstappen won the following sprint races: Imola 2022, Austria 2022, Austria 2023, Belgium 2023, United States 2023, Brazil 2023.
2:30
After Verstappen, it's long nothing. Valtteri Bottas is the only driver to have won more than one sprint race to his name. The Finn did so during his time for Mercedes. Bottas won the sprint race for the 2021 Italian Grand Prix and the sprint race in Brazil in 2021. George Russell (Brazil 2022), Sergio Perez (Azerbaijan 2023) and Oscar Piastri (Qatar 2023) won one sprint race each.