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Confirmed: These six venues will host sprint races in the 2025 season
Formula 1 has officially confirmed the six venues that will host sprint races during the 2025 season. Only one change was made to the selection of venues for the sprint races during the current F1 season. As it stands, the same format will be used which sees the sprint race on Saturday morning, followed by qualifying for the Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon.
It is Belgium that gets the honour of hosting another sprint weekend. That comes at the expense of the Red Bull Ring in Austria. It is not the first time a sprint race will take place at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Max Verstappen won the 100km dash at Spa in 2023.
The sprint venues
Six venues have been chosen again. These are; China, Miami, Austin, Brazil and Qatar. The first sprint race will take place in China in just the second round of the 2025 Formula 1 World Championship, marking the earliest sprint format of the season.
The sprint format returns for the Miami Grand Prix weekend in early May. For the first time since the 2021 season, a sprint race will not be held in Austria. The Red Bull Ring has not been chosen as a venue. Instead, the European sprint race weekend will take place in Belgium in round 13 of the World Championship.
Three of the final six rounds of the season will use the sprint format. The venues are; Austin, Brazil and Qatar. Qatar is the penultimate round of the season, with the final race weekend taking place in Abu Dhabi on the 7th of December.
Whether this year's sprint format will be maintained is still unknown. Further discussion is needed on that. Earlier this year, the F1 Commission meeting did discuss what exactly is the best format, but those discussions have not yet led to any immediate changes. The possibility of that happening at a later date cannot be ruled out.
Sprint races are a success
In a press release, Formula 1 wrote that the sprint races are a great success and are catching the attention of the public. The number of TV viewers has increased substantially, especially on Fridays, when otherwise only the first and second free practice sessions can be seen. On a sprint weekend, there is a sprint shootout immediately after FP1.