Formula One set to change sprint format for 2024
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Red Bull team boss Christian Horner believes the sprint race needs to evolve and is hopeful of a new format.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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ABU DHABI – Formula One is set to change its sprint format for 2024, after support from teams and stakeholders, to make race weekends easier to follow.
The governing FIA said on Nov 24 that its Sporting Advisory Committee would present a final proposal to the F1 Commission in January.
“The Commission gave overall support for an update to the sprint format for 2024 to further rationalise the weekend by separating sprint activities from those for the Grand Prix. The final calendar for the 2024 sprint events will be published in the coming weeks,” the FIA said in a statement.
Six of this season’s 22 races were sprint weekends, including the Qatar Grand Prix in which Red Bull’s Max Verstappen clinched his third consecutive world title on a Saturday.
Teams have been discussing moving the qualifying “shoot-out” to Friday, with the 100km race then held on Saturday morning before qualifying for the main Sunday grand prix.
The current format has qualifying for the grand prix on Friday, with sprint qualifying and standalone race filling Saturday’s schedule.
The change will therefore make better chronological sense and it would be easier for fans to follow.
Besides that, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner also believes that specifics of the sprint race have to be modified in order for it to be more competitive.
“I think it’s clear that the sprints need to evolve a bit. The sprints in some cases have been slightly underwhelming,” he said on the sidelines of the Nov 26 season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
“There’s no pit stop, it tends to stay in grid order and it’s a little bit like getting a medal for a long run. I think it needs a bit more work doing on it within the sporting forum. Then no doubt we’ll sit down at the next commission meeting early in the New Year and hopefully finalise a format.”
Points could be awarded more widely for the sprint race, with a possible reverse grid element also under consideration.
Meanwhile, the Commission – made up of representatives from all F1 teams, the FIA, and Formula 1 itself – agreed to keep tyre blankets through the 2025 season.
It also approved updates to the technical regulations, allowing increased driver cooling to be fitted to the car after the heat and humidity in Qatar caused driver safety concerns.
It also agreed that teams would not be allowed to carry out development work on 2026 cars before the start of the 2025 season.
Formula One is introducing a new engine in 2026. REUTERS
