The Sprint Weekend Dilemma in Formula 1

The Overload of Sprint Weekends

• Sprint weekends feature four key sessions—two qualifying rounds and two races—compressed into just three days.

• This format was introduced to bring more excitement to race weekends, but it has been met with mixed reactions from both fans and drivers. The issue isn’t just the extra racing—it’s the intensity of the schedule. Teams have limited time to perfect their setups, and drivers have to constantly switch focus between different sessions.

• The lack of practice time often means mistakes carry bigger consequences—a poor Sprint Qualifying can ruin a driver’s entire weekend. There’s also the argument that too many sprint weekends make the format feel less special. Instead of a thrilling change of pace, it can sometimes feel like an unnecessary extra race tacked onto the weekend.

What the Drivers Have Said

Sprint weekends have divided opinion on the grid, with some drivers outright against them and others seeing their potential.

• Max Verstappen has been one of the biggest critics, arguing that sprints take away from the excitement of the main Grand Prix. He’s also said, “For me, a sprint weekend is all about surviving, not about proper racing.”

• Lando Norris, while not as strongly against them, has questioned the format’s consistency, stating, “Some weekends they work, some weekends they don’t. But they don’t really add much for me.”

These contrasting views highlight the debate: is the sprint format truly enhancing the race weekend, or is it just disrupting the traditional F1 structure?

The 2025 Chinese GP: A Sprint Weekend Done Right 

• Despite past criticism of the format, this sprint weekend delivered one of the best racing spectacles of the season. A key reason? The Park Fermé rules were lifted after Sprint Qualifying, after the Sprint Race, and after Main Qualifying.

• This meant teams could tweak their cars throughout the weekend, preventing drivers from being locked into a bad setup. As a result, we saw different pole sitters for Sprint and Main Qualifying and different winners for the Sprint and Main Race—a refreshing change from past sprint weekends where results often felt predictable.

• The ability to make adjustments led to a natural evolution in pace and setup choices, keeping the competition dynamic.

Fan Reactions: Mixed Feelings

• An F1-backed survey found 40% of fans enjoyed sprint qualifying, while 34% disagreed. 

• Some fans criticize the format changes as “ridiculous” and “pointless,” seeing them as diluting traditional race weekends.

• While previous sprint weekends have been criticized as unnecessary or repetitive, this format allowed for genuine progress across sessions. If sprint weekends can consistently deliver this level of variety and unpredictability, the format might finally win over its skeptics.

Proposed Changes: Reviving Excitement

• Returning to the 2021 format (one qualifying, one sprint, one race) could restore significance.

• Introducing a reverse grid system, like in Formula 2, might make sprints more unpredictable and engaging.

Final Thought

If every sprint weekend was like China, the debate around them would shift dramatically. The ability to adjust setups throughout the weekend makes the format more engaging, and the changing competitive order keeps things fresh. F1 might not need to scrap sprints entirely—just refine them to ensure they truly add something special to race weekends.

See you in Suzuka!

-Lights Out