This is what sprint racing should look like in 2024

Why Formula 1 wants to retain sprint racing

In 2021, the sprint race format was experimented with for the first time. Sprint races were held in Britain, Italy and Brazil. F1 are mainly looking for more entertainment throughout the weekend. By qualifying on Friday and adding a race on Saturday, F1 hopes to attract more viewers.

This seems to be working. Formula 1 themselves are very happy with the increased spectator numbers and television viewers. So, it pays to substitute practice sessions for sessions where something is at stake. After two years, they even said goodbye to the (hopeless) second free practice on Saturday morning. Because Parc Fermé has already started, teams have nothing to gain from this session.

In 2023, several things were changed to improve the sprint format. More points for more drivers, its own qualifying (sprint shootout) and no longer part of the main race. Thus, qualifying again determines the starting order for the GP, but another problem has arisen.

What is the problem with F1 sprint races?

Max Verstappen complains bitterly about F1's predictability due to sprint races. This is not surprising. The sprint race is actually a mini-race, and given that the setup cannot be changed in between, the main race is a copy of the sprint race. According to Verstappen, it takes the magic away from the race, as it does with qualifying. Not one chance to qualify, but a second attempt on Saturday.

So, although it brings more fans to a race and also improves ratings, the drivers themselves are not happy with the format. 'What's wrong with the old format,' Verstappen wondered aloud. Football or other sports don't get changed either; why F1? Yet that message seems clear: F1 wants more action and thus to attract more fans. Conclusion: practice is 'boring' and therefore needs to disappear more and more.

What should the F1 sprint format look like?

Although going back to the old format would also be my preference, it is not realistic at the moment. In 2024, F1 wants to organise six sprint races again. The question is, in what format? There is talk of a sprint race with a reversed grid of the championship standings. It should also be a separate sprint championship with a final winner.

A reversed grid makes my hair stand on end. Drivers who perform badly get an advantage, and drivers who perform well get a disadvantage. In my view, this has nothing to do with elite sport. Elite sport is about delivering the best performance. Being behind in the championship and then being rewarded with a pole position does not fit into that picture.

I am in favour of a separate championship but take it further. A sprint championship with the 'normal' grid will ensure similar results in the championship. Verstappen won't make a big party out of it if he takes that title, so it's not the ideal promotion for F1.

Future of F1 sprint racing

It could be an ideal platform for the juniors. These drivers currently get too few chances to drive an F1 car. There are two practice sessions in a year reserved per team, but that's about one practice session. What if you give the sprint qualifying and sprint race to a young driver, as happens now with the practice sessions?

That opportunity for young juniors immediately provides an opportunity to make that a separate championship. The regular driver in the other seat can rotate, but the young talent competes in a so-called F1 sprint championship. Six races and qualifications to prove yourself in F1 alongside an experienced F1 driver.

You would also have to adapt the parc fermé rule. It's best to let that go into effect only before the Grand Prix so that the car can be tinkered with up to and including the race. Ideally, such a weekend should feature a practice, qualifying and sprint race on Friday. From session to session, teams can continue to tweak the car, and on the Friday, you are obliged to give up one seat to a junior.

Saturday then consists of a practice session (so the regular driver who was not in action on Friday can practice on Saturday) and a qualifying session. After qualifying, the parc fermé starts, as it always does on an F1 weekend. On Sunday, you then have the race.

Qualifying and race are different not only by line-up but also by setup. On Friday, each team can make a specific setup for qualifying and the race. On Saturday, the setup has to take Sunday's race into account.

Such a format has several advantages. You give opportunities to young drivers, you have a pre-programme on Friday that is not predictive of the rest of the weekend, every day there is an 'interesting session' for the viewer and also leaving the parc fermé rule should help make a weekend less predictable.