What is a sprint race in F1 and how does qualifying shootout work?
Fifth of six F1 sprint races will be held this weekend in Brazil
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The sprint format continues in Formula 1 this weekend as the Brazilian Grand Prix hosts the fifth sprint weekend of the 2024 season.
The sprint was first introduced in 2021 at Silverstone as a way of making more sessions over the course of the weekend competitive, with the target of driving interest in F1. In 2021 and 2022, there were three sprints a year.
The 2023 season introduced a new format. The number of sprint races were doubled to six, while Saturday was designed ‘sprint day’ - with a new “sprint shootout” qualifying session determining the grid for the sprint race. In addition, the result of the sprint race had no baring on the grand prix on Sunday.
However, the format has been tweaked again in 2024 and we will see it in action at Interlagos.
How does the sprint race work?
The F1 Commission and the FIA have approved another modification to the sprint format this year.
The new order of play sees the ‘sprint qualifying’ take place on Friday afternoon instead of a second practice session, with traditional qualifying in its usual spot on Saturday afternoon.
It means there will be just one practice session over the course of the weekend, while Saturday is no longer designated as a ‘sprint day’.
The result of the Saturday morning sprint – a 100km dash, roughly a third of the distance of the grand prix – will not impact the grid for Sunday. Points will be awarded to the top-eight, as was the case in 2023.
The sprint race result will not have any impact on the grand prix qualifying on Saturday or the grand prix on Sunday.
Sprint qualifying will follow the same Q1-Q2-Q3 format but the session times will be shorter than traditional qualifying: SQ1 (medium tyres) will be 12 minutes, SQ2 (medium tyres) will be 10 minutes and SQ3 (soft tyres) will be eight minutes.
SPRINT WEEKEND FORMAT
Friday: Free Practice 1; sprint qualifying (for Saturday’s sprint race)
Saturday: Sprint race (Top-eight receive points, finish order has no impact on grand prix grid); Grand Prix qualifying
Sunday: Grand Prix
How many points are on offer in the sprint race?
P1 - Eight points
P2 - Seven points
P3 - Six points
P4 - Five points
P5 - four points
P6 - three points
P7 - two points
P8 - one point
How many sprint races are left this season?
After China, Miami, Austria and Austin, there are two sprints still on the calendar.
5) ROUND 21 - BRAZIL
Interlagos Circuit - 1-3 November
6) ROUND 23 - QATAR
Lusail International Circuit - 29 November - 1 December
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments