Formula 1’s Traditional Weekend Compared to a Sprint Weekend: What to Know
Formula 1 Sprint weekend, introduced in 2021, adds excitement to the traditional race weekend.
Featuring a shorter, faster race on Saturdays followed by the main Grand Prix on Sunday, the format aims to give fans more on-track action.
An innovation that has generated mixed reactions but also created some heart-stopping and adrenaline-fueled highlights ever since its inception.
Let’s take a look at how a traditional weekend compares to a Sprint Weekend.
Traditional Weekend
Friday
Practice One: The first session of the weekend will allow teams and drivers to understand their machinery and the track for the first 60 minutes.
This allows time for teams to find the perfect balance and setup they wish to integrate for the car heading into Practice Two.
As this is the opening session of the weekend, it is difficult to predict which team and driver are performing better than their rivals.
Practice Two: The second session on Friday runs for another 60 minutes, with teams now shifting emphasis on Race simulations.
Practice Two, therefore, showcases the drivers stress-testing the performance of the car with high fuel loads and a variation of tyre choice.
Now that we have completed the second session, there can be an indicator of the team and drivers’ performance, but it is not a concrete conclusion.
Saturday
Practice Three: Heading into Saturday, the mentality changes from extracting Race data in the quest for sheer speed and precision.
Low fuel loads and soft tyres are integral for the final practice session as teams gather the crucial data in preparation for Qualifying.
Qualifying: All the data gathering and practice is over. Now, it is time to extract the maximum out of the car throughout three Qualifying sessions:
Qualifying 1: 18 Minutes within the session, with the five slowest cars being knocked out, leaving 15 cars heading into Q2.
Qualifying 2: 15 minutes within the session, with another five cars being relegated out of the session. With 10 cars knocked out, the final 10 head into Q3.
Qualifying 3: 12 Minutes within the session, offers the last 10 drivers to fight for Pole Position.
Sunday
Grand Prix: All the preparation is over, the races, the engines fire up, and we five lights for 300 kilometres of adrenaline-pumped action for the Grand Prix to begin.
1st – 25 Points
2nd – 18 Points
3rd – 15 Points
4th – 12 Points
5th – 10 Points
6th – 8 Points
7th – 6 Points
8th – 4 Points
9th – 2 Points
10th – 1 Point
(The Point for Fastest Lap has been removed due to regulations changes for 2025)
Sprint Weekend
Friday
Practice One: Like a traditional weekend, Practice One will last 60 minutes.
However, for a Sprint Weekend, the first practice will be the one and only session for teams and drivers to scrutinise the car before the Sprint Qualifying.
Sprint Qualifying: The Sprint Qualifying enacts the same construct as traditional Qualifying but with the times for each session reduced.
Sprint Qualifying 1: SQ1 will last for 12 minutes, with the five slowest cars knocked out of the session. Leaving 15 drivers heading into SQ2.
For SQ1, all drivers are required to use Medium tyres only.
Sprint Qualifying 2: SQ2 will last for 10 minutes, with the slowest five eliminated. Now, 10 drivers remain.
For SQ2, all drivers are still required to use Medium tyres.
Sprint Qualifying 3: SQ3 will last for 8 minutes with the final 10 drivers in the fight for pole position for the Sprint Race.
For the final Sprint Qualifying session, the drivers must use Soft tyres.
The tyre use per session is to keep the tyre usage fair as the lap times will be determined by driver performance.
Saturday
Sprint Race: Saturday’s Sprint Race is a 100-kilometre race, with no need to pit or conserve the life of the tyres.
In comparison to a Grand Prix on Sunday, drivers will be awarded points:
1st – 8 Points
2nd – 7 Points
3rd – 6 Points
4th – 5 Points
5th – 4 Points
6th – 3 Points
7th – 2 Points
8th – 1 Point
Qualifying: Qualifying will remain the same within the traditional format.
Sunday
Grand Prix: Sunday’s Grand Prix remains unchanged.
While the shorter race format adds unpredictability and intensity, it adds a spark on the traditional race weekend structures and championship outcomes.
As F1 continues to evolve, balancing the Sprint's thrilling appeal with maintaining the sport's essence will be crucial.
Ultimately, Sprint Weekends are a great way to test strategies and engage audiences, contributing to Formula 1’s ongoing innovation.