In 2024, Formula 1 will once again have six Grand Prix with Sprint races. However, the format is expected to be adjusted again, after the creation of the Sprint Shoot Out as a specific qualification last year.
According to the grandprix.com website, there is currently no consensus on the format of the Sprint weekends. Until last year, one of these GPs had a standard free practice and qualifying for the race on Friday, followed by the Sprint Shoot Out and the Sprint race on Saturday (in 2022, there was FP2 instead of the Shoot Out).
As the qualifying for the main race takes place on Saturday, there is some confusion for the fans and everything indicates that the most well-received proposal is to have the Shoot Out on Friday, with Saturday reserved for the Sprint race and qualifying for the GP. The main race on Sunday is never in question.
Furthermore, there are also those who want to use the Sprint races to “shake up” the field, such as reversing the positions of the Shoot Out in order to find the starting grid – completely or partially, as is the case in Formula 2 and Formula 3. Some even argue for determining the starting order in the Sprint race based on the reversal of positions in the championship.
The season starts at the end of February with the Bahrain GP. Even before the tests, there will be meetings of the FIA commissions with the sporting directors in January, and subsequently with the team principals. The goal is to reach an agreement and vote on the new format for the Sprint races – which will then have to be approved by the F1 Commission and the FIA World Council. The first GP with a Sprint race is the China GP, from April 19th to 21st.
