How Does the F1 Sprint Race Weekend Format Work?

Here’s a reminder of what to expect from F1’s shortened race format.

The Schedule

The Sprint weekend is made up of two sessions. Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint Race itself.

Sprint Qualifying takes place on Friday afternoon and replaces FP2 from the normal weekend schedule.

The Sprint Race then follows on Saturday morning – replacing FP3 – before the F1 weekend concludes as normal with Grand Prix Qualifying on Saturday afternoon and the Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Format

Like traditional Qualifying, Sprint Quali is split into three sessions – SQ1, SQ2, and SQ3, which last 12 minutes, 10 minutes, and eight minutes respectively.

The slowest six drivers are eliminated after SQ1 to determine who starts P17-22, and a further six are eliminated after SQ2 to set the grid for P16-P11.

As with Grand Prix Qualifying, the top 10 then enter a shootout to set the rest of the grid for the Sprint Race.

In terms of tyres, drivers are allocated a slightly different combination of rubber than a normal Grand Prix weeken - This comes in the form of six Soft, four Medium, and two Hards, as opposed to eight Soft, three Medium, and two Hards.

Races are 100km long, and drivers do not need to make a pitstop – except for damage or in the event of changeable weather conditions.

There is a one-hour window designated in the F1 weekend schedule in which to run the Sprint.

Are Points Awarded?

Yes, points are awarded from the F1 Sprint race to the top eight finishers: 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

There is no point awarded for fastest lap. The top three from the Sprint race receive a plaque in parc fermé, but do not count as an official F1 podium. Winning the Sprint race also does not count as a Grand Prix victory.

How Many Sprints Are There in 2026?

Just like the previos three season, there are six F1 Sprint races this season. China and Miami remain on the rota, while Canada will host a Sprint race for the first time.

For the first time, there will be four Sprint races before the summer break, the last of which will take place at Silverstone, the site of the very first edition of the race in 2021.

After shutdown, two more new Sprint race venues, as Zandvoort and Singapore join the schedule.

The best Sprint result for the team in 2025 saw Kimi and George score the team's third double Sprint race podium in São Paulo, coming home P2 and P3.

It means the team has achieved a double-podium finish in the shortened format with all three driver pairings it has had since the Sprint was introduced in 2021. George and Lewis (São Paulo 2022) and Lewis and Valtteri (Silverstone 2021) are the other examples of this.

To date, George has scored five podiums in Sprint races in his F1 career, while Kimi has scored one. The Italian has one pole position and one front row start.

Did You Know?

Mercedes has won three Sprint races since the format was first used at Silverstone in 2021.

Valtteri Bottas twice triumphed on Saturday in 2021 at Monza and Interlagos, while George tasted Sprint race success at Interlagos in 2022, before going on to claim his first Grand Prix win a day later.

At the 2025 Miami Grand Prix Sprint weekend, Kimi became the youngest polesitter of any kind in F1 history when he claimed P1 for Saturday's race.

2026 will be the first year since the Sprint race format was introduced that there will be no race at Interlagos.