Miami and China among six sprint race locations in 2024،
Formula 1 has confirmed the venues for its six sprint races next year, with China and Miami both adding the shortened race format to their weekends.
As was the case this year, Austria, the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Brazil and Qatar will all retain sprint races in 2024. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijan Grand Prix and the Grand Prix of Belgium will return to the usual race formats.
China returns to the F1 calendar for the first time since 2019 after a series of canceled events due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
F1's sprint format sees a standalone 100km race (around 30% of the duration of a grand prix) added to the weekend bill, as well as its own shortened version of qualifying to set the grid .
Changes to the sprint races are expected to be discussed at the F1 Commission in January, with a change to the weekend program likely while more radical options, such as reverse grids, are also on the table.
The prospect of a partially reversed grid – possibly a reversal of the top ten order – has been discussed after a series of lackluster sprint races this year. During a procession in Austin, Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “I think you need to add a little more risk to it.”
“Whether you topple the top 10 or something like that, you have to add enough points to it to make it worthwhile for drivers to really go for it.”
However, such a radical change is likely to face strong opposition from some corners of the paddock.
“I'm conservative in racing,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said earlier this year. “I’d rather not have sprint races than if you start to meddle.
“Even more so with reverse grid races, we are moving towards junior formulas where the sport follows the entertainment, while the entertainment should follow the sport. Creating an artificial game around the sprint race on a Saturday is not the way to go. I would prefer, personally.”
If radical changes are not introduced, it is likely that sprint qualifying, known as the shootout, will become the second session on Friday rather than the first session on Saturday, while the sprint race itself will then become the first session on Saturday.
This will allow Grand Prix qualifying, which took place on Friday during the sprint races this year, to take its traditional place as the second on-track session on Saturday before the full grand prix on Sunday.
Changing the order of sessions would also allow F1 to change its parc ferme rules, which previously prevented teams from changing their car settings once Grand Prix qualifying begins on Friday.
In the proposed change, some setup changes would likely be allowed between the sprint and Saturday's qualifying to allow drivers to fine-tune settings or correct errors.
