F1 Sprint: How the new 2023 format will work after Sprint Shootout is added to the schedule | F1 news

F1 Sprint weekends have a new format for 2023; Friday’s qualifying sessions now form the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix; a new, shorter Sprint Shootout qualifier takes place before the Sprint on Saturday; watch the debut of the new format live on Sky Sports F1 at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix this weekend

Formula 1 sprint weekends will have a new format for 2023 after changes were approved ahead of this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Before debuting the new format in Baku, Sky Sports F1 explain what has changed.

How have the Sprint weekends been going so far?

F1’s Sprint debuted in 2021 and the usual weekend format was changed to introduce a second, shortened race that offers more wheel-to-wheel action to ensure that each day of the Grand Prix weekend contains significant action.

Time trial was moved from Saturday afternoon to Friday evening, and the hour-long practice set the grid for the sprint.

The Sprint result would then decide Sunday’s starting order – the driver who won the Sprint started the Grand Prix on pole, if someone crashed or retired with car problems, they would start from the back.

The top eight in the sprint collected points.

Practice one would take place on Friday afternoon before qualifying, and practice two would take place on Saturday morning before the sprint.

What has changed in 2023?

The key change is that the result of Saturday’s shorter race no longer sets the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix, but is now decided by Friday’s qualifying.

Whoever is the fastest on Friday night will now start from the pole on Sunday.

A new, separate, shorter qualifying session – the Sprint Shootout – will now take place on Saturday morning, and practice two will be removed from the weekend schedule.

The Sprint and its own qualifying race is now basically a separate entity from the Grand Prix.

Why has the change happened?

Basically, trying to enhance the entertainment and spectacle of the Sprint weekend.

With Sprint no longer setting the Grand Prix table, we hope it will encourage drivers to attack and take more risks during the 100km race, as an accident would not put them at risk on Sunday.

It also brings more meaning to Saturday morning. In the old format, Saturday’s second practice session had effectively become redundant due to F1’s Parc Ferme rules – when cars leave the garage for Friday qualifying, teams cannot make changes to their line-up.

“Saturday morning’s session was boring as hell,” Haas boss Guenther Steiner said Sky Sports F1 Podcast. “It was boring for me, it was even more boring for the fans, so to do a qualifying session instead is good.”

The reduction to just one 60-minute practice before qualifying on Friday could also bring more danger to the weekend as teams have less time to understand tire behavior and settings.

How does Sprint Shootout work?

The Sprint Shootout follows the same three-race playoff format as regular qualifying, but each of the Q1, Q2 and Q3 segments has been shortened to accommodate the teams’ engine and tire issues.

SQ1 has been shortened from 18 minutes to 12 minutes.

SQ2 has been shortened from 15 minutes to 10 minutes.

SQ3 has been shortened from 12 minutes to eight minutes.

The aim is for each car to have just one flying lap in each session, although two runs could be made in SQ1, while SQ2 and SQ3 would allow two timed laps without a pit stop between attempts.

Another significant difference between the Sprint Shootout and the regular time trial is the tire usage restrictions.

While teams are free to use whatever tires are available in regular qualifying sessions, in the Sprint Shootout the new Tire Sets are mandatory in each of the three sections, with medium compounds in SQ1 and SQ2, followed by a switch to soft in SQ3.

How are online penalties applied?

In connection with the announcement of the new format, it was also clarified how the grid penalties will be applied during Sprint weekends.

Infractions from Friday’s practice or qualifying laps will be applied to the race, while penalties incurred in the Sprint Shootout will be applied to the sprint.

A grid penalty for an incident during the sprint will apply to Sunday’s race, while a breach of the Parc ferme will result in pit lane starts in both the sprint and the race.

Any penalties for violating power unit limits apply only to the competition, unless their installation is also a Parc Ferme violation.

What is Sprint’s points system?

The points for the 2023 Sprint will remain unchanged from 2022.

A total of 36 points are available for the eight best in Saturday’s competition. The winner collects eight points, the runner-up seven points and this continues to count down to eighth (one point).

The increase in the number of sprint weekends for 2023 means that points collected on Saturday could have an even greater say in the destination of this year’s World Championships.

Are there pit stops at Sprint?

There are few pit stops because the sprint is short.

Unlike a Grand Prix, there is no mandatory tire change required, and unless the cars are damaged or punctured or rained out, don’t expect them to leave the action in the pit lane between lights out and the checkered flag.

Drivers can drive as they wish with any tire compound – hard, medium or soft.

Where will Sprint Weekends be held in 2023?

For 2023, F1 has doubled the number of sprints from three – as in 2021 and 2022 – to six.

The Azerbaijan GP will host the first Sprint weekend on April 29, which will also be the first time the shorter race will be run on a street circuit.

The sprint will then return twice in July, with Austria’s Red Bull Ring hosting the format for a second year on July 1 before making another appearance at the Belgian Grand Prix on July 29 in the final round before F1’s summer break.

Qatar will host the fourth Sprint of the year on October 7 before the US GP’s Circuit of the Americas hosts its first Sprint weekend on October 21.

And Brazil’s Interlagos continues its record as the only circuit to host the format since its inception on November 4.

Who has won the previous sprints?

In the six previous sprints between 2021 and 2022, three different drivers have won.

Max Verstappen has won half of the sprints held so far, coming first at Silverstone in 2021 and Imola and Austria last year.

Valtteri Bottas won the Sprint at Monza and Interlagos in 2021 with Mercedes.

And George Russell took his first F1 win in the Interlagos sprint last year before also claiming a Grand Prix win on Sunday.

The Formula 1 season continues with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on 28-30. April, and the first sprint weekend of 2023 will be shown live on Sky Sports F1. Watch Saturday’s sprint at 2:30 p.m. and Sunday’s race at 12 p.m. Get Sky Sports