Sprint races are a new concept for the F1 audience. Ever since its introduction, the format has gone through some changes. The latest change, which is also perhaps the biggest in 2023, is the schedule for sprint race weekends. What is that revamp? How is it going to pan out? Are drivers in favor of the change? Let us find out.

In a traditional race weekend, we all know how F1 has 3 practice sessions divided over Friday and Saturday. Then we have qualifying on Saturday itself to determine the grid positions for the main race. And then we finally have the main race on Sunday. Sprint race weekends bring a breath of fresh air to that old schedule with a 100 km race (62 miles approx.) on Saturday before the main race. Recognizing how the format is becoming popular among the fans, the FIA and the F1 management have decided to roll out a completely revamped schedule for the sprint-specific weekends.

The latest changes to sprint weekends

Starting right from the Azerbaijan GP this week, F1 will have just one practice session. Friday will accommodate for that lone practice session before qualifying for the main race starts. That will conclude the action for the day.

Saturday will be all sprint. A qualifying session called the Sprint Shootout will determine the grid for the Sprint race. The Shootout will have, just like normal qualifying, 3 separate sessions for setting the timings and elimination of 5 drivers in the first two. However, the format for the shootout will be vastly different from the qualifying we are used to seeing.

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The first session will be 12 minutes long with drivers allowed to set timings twice. Both runs will be separated by a pit stop for the tire change. Q2 and Q3 will be 8 minutes long each. However, this time around, drivers cannot come in for a pit stop.

That is not all. There is a mandatory tire choice in place for the Shootout. Drivers can only sport the medium compound tires for the first session of Shootout. The other two sessions will have them run on soft compound tires only.

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The points distribution remains the same for the top 8 finishers of the sprint race. 8 points for the race winner and then subsequently one point lesser for lower finishers until the P8 holder who will take home 1 point.

Sprint races over the years and the changes F1 has introduced over time

Before the introduction of the latest changes, the sprint race acted as the qualifying for the main race. The results of the 100 km Saturday race determined the grid positions for the main race. Sprint weekends had just two practice sessions as opposed to the three that we have normally. Of course, that number will now further reduce to just 1 practice session as Friday will also house the qualifying for the Sunday race.

2023 will also have the biggest number of sprint weekends we have ever seen. Before this, the F1 calendar had just 3 sprint races over the course of a full season. In 2023, that number has doubled. Brazil and Austria, who have prior experience of hosting the event will continue to do so. The new ones to join them are Azerbaijan, Belgium, Qatar, and the US.

Earlier, we had a qualifying session for the sprint race as the sprint itself acted as a qualifying for the main race. Now, of course, we have two separate qualifying sessions to determine the grid positions for the two separate races.

Also, the points distribution and the reward for top finishes weren’t as gratifying as they are now. In 2021, only the top 3 finishers got points, that too just 3 points for P1, 2 for P2, and 1 for P3 finisher.

Max Verstappen not a fan of the format while Lewis Hamilton supports FIA bringing in little changes

Even before the advent of Sprint in 2021, Max Verstappen was a staunch opposer. He cited the risk of drivers wrecking the car before the main race and taking unnecessary grid penalties just for some handful of points. In 2022, when the FIA was contemplating the idea of doubling the sprint race weekends, the Dutchman went as far as calling it “not really a race”.

Motorsport.com quoted him as saying, “Every time I do these [sprint] races, it’s about ‘don’t get damage, make sure you stay in the top three’.”

“For me, that’s not really a race, because you go into the main race and you know there are way more points available anyway, you just risk a bit more there.”

Lewis Hamilton, on the other hand, has lent his support to the FIA for bringing in changes little by little. Speaking about the revamped format recently, GP Fans quoted him as saying, “I think the changes with the sprint races have been positive in some places. I’m open to changes, to continue to make it more inclusive and more engaging for the fans.”

“I quite like the Friday of a sprint weekend so far, and I’d love to have more qualifying because that’s always super fun.”

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What are your thoughts on the latest changes? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.