F1 Sprint increase expected as Domenicali issues new update
There are currently six Sprint weekends per season, but that is "1,000%" going to increase next year.
Formula 1 CEO, Stefano Domenicali, has said the F1 Sprint format is set to expand to more venues next season.
The sport currently holds six Sprints per season, altering the structure of a race weekend in the process, but this is set to increase in 2027.
F1 Sprint increase expected amid promoter interest and Friday fan experience
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Domenicali has spoken previously of the demand among race promoters to host Sprint events, which hold only one free practice session on a Friday before Sprint qualifying later in the day – with the F1 CEO having voiced his aim on multiple occasions to offer fans competitive action on all three days of a race weekend.
After Sprint qualifying, the 100km Sprint – one-third of a race distance – kicks off the Formula 1 action on a Saturday, before teams are allowed to adjust their cars heading into Grand Prix qualifying in its usual later Saturday slot. The full grand prix then takes place as usual on a Sunday.
Drivers and teams often speak of the increased intensity of a race weekend, with competitive action coming after just one hour of practice, throwing those involved straight into the action.
Domenicali had hinted at an increase in Sprint events in July, suggesting fans should “stay tuned” over a change in the calendar make-up, telling Sky Sports that “with the people we had on Friday at Silverstone [150,000, ed], if you don’t give something that has an action it would be wrong.”
Now, he has given further indication about a potential increase in Sprints, on a Liberty Media earnings call discussing financial results from the first half of the year.
More about the F1 Sprint format
F1 Sprint explained: Rules, format and how it differs from standard F1 rules
F1 race time: How long is a Formula 1 Grand Prix?
“Our Sprint format continues to drive higher Friday attendances and stronger daily attendances to our race weekend,” Domenicali told a Liberty Media earnings call.
“The success of the Sprint format continues to drive interest from promoters in hosting a Sprint race, and we expect to expand the number of Sprints for next year and to provide further details soon.”
Asked about the number of future Sprints, Domenicali hinted that they would not appear at every race weekend, wanting to ensure that hosting one of these rounds remains an added bonus for a promoter.
“This is an opportunity for us to have new deals, as we have already seen, and moving in this direction will be our future,” he added.
“We want to do it in the right way because, of course, this will allow us also to make sure that the scarcity is a value.
“So, if commercially we would go everywhere, of course, that’s not anymore a value that we can really produce from the commercial point of view, but definitely we’re going to move further up in terms of the what the number [is] in the future.
“That’s 1,000 per cent what will happen already next year.”
Additional reporting by Mat Coch
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