Formula 1 – F1 Sprint Makes Debut in British Grand Prix

F1 will debut its new sprint weekend format at the British Grand Prix, introducing a 100km race on Saturday afternoon in place of qualifying. Drivers will be racing on Saturday to set the grid for the showpiece race on Sunday, with fast-paced competitive action on all three days in Silverstone, which is set to host a capacity crowd.

What is the Sprint Race

A sprint race is a shortened version of a normal race, taking place over a shorter distance. They’re used in many other series, though perhaps most notably for Formula 1 is their inclusion in the Formula 2 race weekend. In F2 the sprint race is 120km and the feature race covers 170km, though are usually no less exciting.

The reason they’re coming to Formula 1 is to build up the excitement of the whole race weekend. With fans now having a highlight on each of the three days (with either qualifying or a race), it should make for an overall better experience. F1 has long been looking to make changes to the traditional race weekend format and while other options like reverse grid races were considered, they were ultimately unfancied compared to sprint races.

How Does F1’s Sprint Qualifying Work?

Sprint qualifying races will be run over 100km and will take around 25-30 minutes. The starting order for the sprint race will be decided by a traditional qualifying session on the Friday, while the results of the sprint race will determine the starting order for Sunday’s race.

What is the Sprint Race Weekend Format?

Weekends with sprint races will have different timetables to normal race weekends. Friday changes mean that the new-for-2021 format of two one-hour free practice sessions – reduced from two 90-minute sessions used last year – will swap to just a single one-hour practice session followed by the ‘traditional’ three-part qualifying knockout format.

On Saturday the familiar one-hour final practice session remains in place in the morning, but qualifying is replaced by a sprint race. Sunday remains the same though, with just the F1 Grand Prix in the afternoon (or evening if it is a night race).

The sprint races themselves will be run over 100km, with the full-length races staying at 305km or 260km for Monaco. There will be no mandatory pitstops, though drivers will be able to enter the pits should they want to.

The sprint race weekend format will be:

• Friday morning – 60-minute Free Practice 1
• Friday afternoon – Q1, Q2, Q3 sessions to order the starting grid for the sprint race qualifying
• Saturday morning – 60-minute Free Practice 2
• Saturday afternoon – 100km sprint race qualifying
• Sunday – Full grand prix race

The British Grand Prix Timetable

The timetable for the British Grand Prix, the first GP to hold a sprint race, puts both the free practice sessions in the afternoon, though it’s unclear whether this is just for this race or if it will be used at others.

• Friday
  • FP1
  • Qualifying
• Saturday
  • FP2
  • Sprint qualifying
• Sunday
  • Race

Rules around tyres are also changing. In Friday’s first practice each driver can only use two sets of tyres, while the Friday qualifying session will provide drivers with five soft tyres sets. After that teams will use these options for tyres for the remainder of the weekend:

• One set of tyres for Saturday’s practice session – teams decide which compound
• One set for the sprint race – teams decide which compound
• Two remaining sets of tyres for the grand prix, with teams able to choose which compound to start on