Formula 1 has introduced a new format for ‘sprint’ races for the 2023 season.
The ‘sprint’ – a shorter race held on Saturday – has been made independent of the grand prix and will have its own qualifying session, known as the ‘sprint shootout’.
Qualifying to set the grid for the main grand prix will be held on Friday.
There will then be a shorter qualifying session, to the same knockout format, on Saturday to set the sprint grid.
The ‘sprint’ qualifying will have three sessions, with the slowest five cars eliminated at the end of the first two, but the sessions will be cut to just 12, 10 and eight minutes. The three sessions in a standard qualifying run for 18, 15 and 12 minutes, respectively.
The grands prix in Azerbaijan, Austria, Belgium, Qatar, the USA and Brazil are the six races Formula 1 has chosen to host ‘sprints’ this season.
The idea behind the changes is to introduce more jeopardy into the ‘sprint’ by encouraging drivers to take more risks.
The previous format for sprint weekends, which were introduced in 2021, had the Friday qualifying session setting the grid for the sprint and the result of the sprint establishing the grid for the main grand prix.
That meant drivers were reluctant to take chances in the sprint because any errors or accidents would disproportionately harm their chances in the grand prix.
As before, the top eight finishers in the sprint will score points, from eight for first place down to one for eighth.
The new format, which will be used at all six of the sprint weekends this season, also has the benefit of eliminating a Saturday practice session in which teams ran only with race fuel loads and as a result was a meaningless spectacle for the audience.
This session has been replaced by the new qualifying session for the sprint event.
