Simply put, Formula 1 sprint races are pocket-sized grand prix. Six venues get one in 2026 – Shanghai, Miami, Montreal, Silverstone, Zandvoort and Singapore – with only the latter to go at the time of writing.
Aimed at producing faster, more frenetic on-track actionm sprints are stripped down races: there are no pit stops and therefore no tyre strategies. Instead it’s a simple, flat-out dash.
The top eight finishers are awarded world championship points – the winner receiving eight, reducing to one point for the eighth-placed driver.
In recent years, F1 has held six sprint races each year but that’s increasing to ten sprints in 2027. That should make for an even more challenging season.
Sprint qualifying on the Friday afternoon replaces the second practice session of a regular GP weekend, while the Saturday morning race replaces the third. This means that drivers only have one practice session on Friday before diving straight into the competitive action.
In Miami, that practice session was extended from 60 to 90 minutes, giving teams more time to adapt to mid-season rule changes.
Formula 1’s sprint races have added some drama to the calendar, but with rumours of the format expanding to as many as 10 or 12 weekends, the series faces a key question: is more always better?
The grand prix weekend timetable returns to its familiar schedule after the sprint, with another qualifying session for the main race on Saturday afternoon and the grand prix itself on the Sunday.
The current format allows teams to change their car set-ups between the sprint race and qualifying. This enables engineers to take a more aggressive approach in the sprint and alter it for the longer grand prix.
• Separate qualifying sessions Drivers compete in a special qualifying session on Friday for Saturday’s sprint race. Grand prix qualifying is held separately.
Saturday’s sprint race grid is determined by the ‘sprint shootout’ qualifying:
– All 22 drivers have 12min to set a time in sprint qualifying 1 (SQ1)
– The six slowest drivers drop out before a 10min SQ2 session.
– Only the fastest ten go through to an 8min SQ3.
• The sprint race then follows on Saturday morning.
– This is a third of the length of the grand prix.
– Races typically last around 30min
• Grand prix qualifying is unchanged:
– An 18min Q1 for all 20 drivers where the six slowest are eliminated.
– Followed by a 15min Q2 where another six drivers are dropped.
– Finally a 13min Q3 for the final 10 drivers.
• Reduced practice There is only one hour-long practice session on a sprint weekend, limiting the amount of time to find the right set-up and simulate the different stages of the event. There are three hour-long practice sessions on a standard, non-sprint grand prix weekend.
• Championship points The winner of a sprint race gets eight F1 world championship points, which reduces by one per place down to the eighth-place finisher who receives one point.
• Six sprint weekends – the same as in the previous three seasons, and double the three held per season in 2021 and 2022. This number will move to ten 2027.
Scroll down for more details or click to jump to a particular section:
• 2026 Sprint race calendar
• 2026 sprint race rules – including sprint race laps, length, points, tyre allocation and penalties
• How sprint changes have affected F1 racing
• What is a sprint race?
F1 is holding six sprint races this season, as it did last year, though the venues have changed. Silverstone returned, while Montreal, Zandvoort and Singapore all got to host their first sprint weekend. Only Singapore’s sprint weekend is left to run.
According to F1, each sprint calendar is designed to feature circuits which provide the most overtaking opportunities and therefore provide more entertainment for the fans and more point-scoring chances for the drivers. Last year saw some heated battles, but other sprint races were much more predictable.
Sprint races run to 100km (62 miles), so roughly a third of a grand prix. Lap count varies depending on the circuit. For the Miami Grand Prix, the sprint race is set for 19 laps, which is a exactly a third of the 57-lap Grand Prix distance. There is also a time limit: races must be completed within 60 minutes, so if safety cars and stoppages eat into that, the race gets cut short rather than run to its full distance.
Only the top eight finishers in the sprint race are awarded points.
| Position | Points |
| 1 | 8 |
| 2 | 7 |
| 3 | 6 |
| 4 | 5 |
| 5 | 4 |
| 6 | 3 |
| 7 | 2 |
| 8 | 1 |
Sprint races have a dedicated qualifying session which is held on a Friday after FP1.
Otherwise known as the ‘sprint shootout’, this qualifying session is shorter than for the grand prix in order to encourage drivers to set their fastest lap times right out of the gate.
Grand Prix qualifying retains the same format and is held on the Saturday after the sprint race has concluded.
Friday sprint shootout qualifying |
Saturday grand prix qualifying |
|||
| Session | Length | Drivers eliminated | Session | Length |
| SQ1 | 12min | 6 slowest | Q1 | 18min |
| SQ2 | 10min | 6 slowest | Q2 | 15min |
| SQ3 | 8min | n/a | Q3 | 13min |
The current sprint race weekend format comes slots into a regular grand prix weekend, so full-length qualifying still takes place on a Saturday. The fastest driver in this session, just like in every other grand prix weekend, will be on pole position for Sunday’s race.
This effectively eliminates any pole-sitter confusion, after an initial two years of awkwardness where there was only one qualifying session on a sprint weekend, which set the grid for the sprint race. Drivers then started the grand prix in their sprint finishing position.
For the first sprint races in 2021, pole position was officially awarded to the winner of the sprint race, which proved unpopular as it removed recognition of the all-or-nothing qualifying laps that showcase drivers’ bravery and commitment.
That was changed in 2022, so that the fastest qualifier was recorded as pole-sitter. The 2022 F1 season stands as an historical quirk, being the only year when a grand prix weekend’s official ‘pole-sitter’ could potentially not start first in Sunday’s race (penalties aside).
A maiden sprint pole for Kimi Antonelli at Miami in 2025
LAT via Mercedes
Identical to other F1 race weekends, penalties incurred during FP1 or Saturday’s grand prix qualifying will applied to Sunday’s full-length grand prix.
However, penalties incurred during the ‘sprint shootout’ will be only be applied to the sprint race. Should a driver be handed a grid penalty during Saturday’s sprint race, that will then be applied to Sunday’s grand prix.
Power unit penalties will only apply to the grand prix.
Tyre restrictions are different during sprint weekends. Teams receive 12 sets, rather than the standard 13.
When sprint shootout qualifying is dry, drivers must only use one set of tyres per stage: a fresh set of mediums in Q1; more unused mediums in Q2 and a set of new or used soft tyres in Q3. It can be unforgiving: lock up your tyres in one session, and you could ruin your chances of making it through to the next.
There is a free choice of tyres for both the sprint on Saturday and the grand prix on Sunday.
The 2026 sprint weekend format includes parc fermé rules which allow teams to change the set-up of their car for sprint race and grand prix events.
There are two parc fermé deadlines: one takes effect ahead of sprint qualifying on Friday afternoon and will last throughout Saturday’s sprint, preventing teams making significant changes to their car during this period. The other then starts ahead of Saturday afternoon’s grand prix qualifying session and continues until Sunday’s grand prix.
In 2024, the parc fermé period ran from sprint qualifying until the end of the race weekend, so teams weren’t able to make set-up changes between the sprint race and the grand prix
Hamilton’s Chinese GP sprint win represented Ferrari’s only F1 victory in 2025
Ferrari
We’ve seen five sprints in 2026 so far, with mixed results. George Russell has claimed three of them in his dominant Mercedes, with his battle and win with his team Antonelli in Zandvoort being a particular highlight.
In contrast, Norris took a win in Miami, leading a lights to flag one-two without ever looking realistically threatened. Great for McLaren but perhaps not so much for the spectacle.
With that in mind, it’s hard to say whether sprint races are doing their job. Whatever the answer, they appear to be here to stay – with ten planned for 2027.
