F1 votes on sprint races: 'Possible to earn points on Saturday too'

On Tuesday morning it was already announced that sprint races might appear on the calendar in 2021, but there is more news. On Thursday, a vote will be held on the points that can be scored.

Will there be extra races?

On Tuesday, news emerged that the F1 Commission Meeting on 11 February would decide whether sprint races would be added to the F1 calendar in 2021. With qualifying on Friday, a sprint race on Saturday and racing on Sunday (based on the sprint race result) as usual.

This new format is part of Liberty Media's plans to make the sport more attractive. The qualifying format is a part that has been looked at for some time. Last season a reversed starting grid was suggested as well, but that was quickly dismissed.

Points for the sprint race

On Thursday the teams will vote on this proposal and according to Auto, Motor und Sport, there is also a plan to distribute points for the sprint race on Saturday. It would be a third of the points from the main race, with a division that we know from the past being an option: 9-6-4-3-2-1.

Formula 1 wants to convince the teams with the plan to test this during three races. It is not yet clear whether this would involve additional race weekends, or whether existing weekends would be adapted to this format. There should be three tests. Montreal, Monza and Interlagos were already mentioned on Tuesday, but F1 is still looking at all possible options, according to AMuS.