Photo by Mohammed Dabbous/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
The F1 Sprint format is back for the 2024 season
While opinions on the format remain mixed — including from the drivers themselves — Formula 1’s Sprint Saturdays will return to the grid next season.
Now we know which races will host F1 Sprint races next year.
F1 announced on Tuesday the six F1 Sprint races for the 2024 season, a slate which includes a pair of Sprint races in the United States, and two venues hosting Sprint races for the first time:
For Brazil and Austria, this is the third-straight year those circuits have been the site of a Sprint race. F1 Sprint races return to both Qatar and Austin for the second-straight season.
Meanwhile the Chinese Grand Prix, and the Miami Grand Prix, will host Sprint races for the first time.
In the announcement, F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali noted both increased viewership over the Sprint weekends, as well as more racing for fans to watch as well. “I am delighted to announce six exciting venues for next season’s F1 Sprint events, including two new hosts China and Miami, both of which will be fantastic additions and provide great racing for all our fans at the race and watching at home,” said Domenicali in the announcement. “Since its creation in 2021, the Sprint has been consistent in delivering increased audiences on TV, more on track entertainment for the fans at events and increased fan engagement on social and digital platforms, and we are looking forward to the exciting events next year.”
Under the revised F1 Sprint format, qualifying for the Grand Prix now takes place on Friday, with a new “F1 Saturday” that sees drivers first qualify for the Sprint Race on Saturday in the “F1 Sprint Shootout,” with the F1 Sprint race to follow later that day. When you add in the Grand Prix itself on Sunday, that gives fans three days of meaningful action on the track.
According to F1, that has seen an increase in viewership on Fridays. As they state in the release:
“F1 Sprint has had a positive impact on audience figures, especially on Friday compared to regular Free Practice sessions, and has provided promoters and fans with extra competitive on-track action at the six events. For example, at the Azerbaijan GP the broadcast audience for Qualifying was +83% vs 2022 Free Practice 2 session, +139% for the US GP, +34% for the Belgium GP.”
It is also interesting to note that the United States, which already sees three races, will now get a pair of F1 Sprint weekends.
However, some of the drivers may need convincing. Three-time World Champion Max Verstappen has been among the most critical of the format, remarking after taking pole in the F1 Sprint Shootout in Austin — and winning the F1 Sprint race itself — that he does not get excited for those events. “If you want my honest opinion about sprint weekends, I don’t really get excited by it,” said Verstappen in Austin.
Verstappen went even further in Brazil the following month. If you recall the results of the United States Grand Prix, which saw both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc lose podium finishes after their cars failed post-race inspections, many pointed to the Sprint format as a reason for those failures.
Including the Red Bull driver.
“We should just get rid of the sprint weekend and then everyone can just set up their cars normally,” Verstappen told media in Brazil. “It wouldn’t have happened that we would have had a normal race weekend. These things only happen when you have a sprint weekend where everything is so rushed into your in-between FP1 and qualifying.”
However, at least for 2024, Verstappen and the rest of the grid will see this format six times.
