Formula 1 will hold six sprint races again next year but the venues of two of the events will change.
Spa-Francorchamps and Baku City Circuit, which held sprint races for the first time this year, will not do so again next season.Instead Shanghai International Circuit and Miami International Autodrome will be hosting sprint races in the fifth and sixth rounds of the championship.
Interlagos will hold a sprint race for the fourth year in a row, the Red Bull Ring will use the format for a third successive season, while Circuit of the Americas and Losail International Circuit will also hold sprint races after doing so for the first time this year. Max Verstappen became 2023 world champion by finishing second in the sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix, which was the 17th round of 22.
F1, the FIA and the 10 teams are continuing to discuss potential changes to the sprint race format, which has been revised every year since it was introduced in 2021. A reshuffle of the race weekend order to restore grand prix qualifying to its regular late Saturday slot is already expected to go ahead. This will be achieved by moving the sprint race qualifying session to Friday and holding the sprint race earlier on Saturday.
Further, more radical changes are also under consideration, including reversing part of the starting grid, as is done in Formula 2 and Formula 3.
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Axel
5th December 2023, 12:17
Wish they just accepted that it doesn’t work like they want it to and got rid of them. With all their tweaking and experimenting they are way past the point of all this experimentation in my opinion. At this point they should either commit to them fully like MotoGP does. Or, as many would prefer, just scrap the idea and accept that it was not a success
Craig
5th December 2023, 13:58
At this point I think they lied about it being an experiment and wanted to force it in come what may. Someone’s convinced themselves it’s a great idea and they likely see the discussions around it whether praising or criticizing it to be a good thing, subscribing to the foolish adage of “any publicity is good publicity”.
SteveP
5th December 2023, 17:55
I refuse to believe that you hadn’t figured that out way before now.
What think you mean is that you are no longer giving them the benefit of the doubt, no matter how slim it may have been previously.
Thus demonstrating that even nice folks can be pushed too far.
BasCB (@bascb)
6th December 2023, 14:58
I really think that the issue by now is exactly as it always is for corporations – they count on the added revenue from the sprint and cannot afford to tell the bigwigs that they will not get it anymore since they have the obligation to GROW the company and revenues.
Let’s see whether Shanghai actually takes place this year, better than ruining a perfectly fine Spa race weekend with a sprint.
StephenH
5th December 2023, 14:42
Sprint races are the reason why I don’t watch Moto GP any more. In fact they’ve put me off motorcycle racing altogether.
Jere (@jerejj)
5th December 2023, 12:35
As I expected, still no YMC among the six, while COTA unfortunately didn’t get dropped even if Spa & Baku did as I hoped.
Therefore, Miami’s addition means that, unfortunately, two of them will be daylight North American events.
Shanghai is a surprising addition because of its lengthy absence, so having only a single practice session is more unideal than if it hadn’t been away.
Regardless of locations, shootout-sprint-qualifying order would be the most fitting, although reversing grid order, wholly or partly, not so much.
Bullfrog (@bullfrog)
5th December 2023, 13:52
They should have one at round 1 in Bahrain, to try and manufacture some chaos.
It’s not a bad wheel-to-wheel track, kind of like the Red Bull Ring. And after testing the cars to death the previous weekend, the last thing they want is more practice sessions. It’s such a lame, low-key start to the season. (My “proper” season begins in Melbourne.)
lynn-m
5th December 2023, 14:44
yes because Miami’s been great from a racing standpoint.
it will be a rubbish gimmick race on a rubbish circuit that produces rubbish racing.
show over sport!
BasCB (@bascb)
6th December 2023, 14:58
Well, another gimmick there won’t change it much then, will it?
PacificPR (@streydt)
5th December 2023, 14:53
They can reverse the grid all the want – but it wouldn’t matter anyway. Not with Max and Red Bull in it’s current form and DRS. The only way it will become a spectacle is if they reverse the results of the sprint race instead of qualifying – that way the last will be first and we will surly get some bonkers racing (don’t stall or your out!) – and true value for your money.
Dex
5th December 2023, 15:37
Dear Lord, not one, but two Miamis. Why, oh why?
billc
5th December 2023, 17:02
Should give a sprint weekend to Montreal. Three years now and the only support series is the ferrari challenge. Bunch of doctors and lawyers having fun in their toys. No actual competitive racing series in sight.
SteveP
5th December 2023, 18:09
Monaco. Then you get to draw straws to decide which had more competitive over taking and thrills. My money would be on FP1
MichaelN
5th December 2023, 17:14
Overdue, but welcome. Qualifying is cool, even in this silly three-round format and without qualifying setups. Putting it on a workday when most working folks are still either at work or commuting has been a very silly decision.
Reverse grids are goofy, but there’s some cases where it can be fun. Reversing a part of the grid is always silly. If you’re going to do that, just don’t do it at all.
If they only swap the top 10 around, they’re essentially only putting places 1 through 3 back. We all know how that works. Reverse grids should be reverse grids. Not just simulating an engine penalty for the pole sitter.
Red Andy (@red-andy)
5th December 2023, 19:10
I don’t really see how a reverse grid format works at all if you have a standalone qualifying session for the sprint race. If you reverse the top ten then no one will run in SQ3; if you reverse the whole grid then no one will run at all…
Reverse grids only really work in some other categories because they are reversing the order of a competitive session, e.g. the sole qualifying session (as in F3 and F2) or an earlier race (as used to be the case in F2 pre-Covid).
ZoemDoef
6th December 2023, 13:09
Who would be credited with pole position then, the driver with the fastest Q3 time or the one that did the slowest time in Q1????
SteveP
5th December 2023, 18:06
Be honest Keith, Verstappen lifted the trophy at that weekend by actually finishing in front of Perez. Zero points would have done, provided he was in front of Perez.
A car so dominant that even with the disaster of a season Perez had, he came second in the WDC.
Jere (@jerejj)
6th December 2023, 6:29
In zero-points scenario, their order would’ve been entirely irrelevant since the gap would’ve remained unchanged & thus above 172 points anyway.
Four Four Seven (@fourfourseven)
5th December 2023, 18:48
They’re total rubbish, why keep flogging a dead horse? Scrap them and end this DTS fan BS
Paul (@frankjaeger)
5th December 2023, 19:57
Why, God? Why, Miami? Why, Why Why?!
I digress
João
5th December 2023, 20:42
All of them should be at bad circuits, so we won’t feel bad about missing them.
GmP (@gmp)
6th December 2023, 0:23
I like it. Was doubting if I would go to Miami again next year, but this makes it much more attractive.
Three out of four sessions on Fri and Sat are about something, plus a long GP on Sunday. Hopefully they keep the Porches on the program, that was also fun to see.
COTA I would have gone anyway, they have a nice full program, but keeping the sprint race there is also a bonus.
Will skip Vegas if they don’t add anything and change access to larger segments of the track, absolute no value for money there. They were lucky this year that the race was excellent, but that was luck, having some incidents at the right time involving the right drivers. No guarantee that in 2024 they will be that lucky again.
Let the season begin, looking forward to visits those races.
Coventry Climax
6th December 2023, 2:26
I couldn’t care less, actually. I’ve decided to skip all smallprix next year anyway, whatever circuit holds them.
Lee That's Me (@leethatsme)
6th December 2023, 11:04
Despite Piastri’s result last year, I can’t get interested in the current format. How about a separate championship with reserve drivers in one car and the regular drivers taking turns in the second car? Or scrap it and let me watch qualifying properly again.