Formula 1 has revealed that both China and Miami will host Sprint races for the first time as part of the sport’s six offerings of the format in 2024.
Having initially been introduced at only three events in the format’s first two years, the revised weekend schedule will again feature at six grands prix like the past season.
The Chinese Grand Prix has been absent from the F1 calendar since 2019 due to the Covid-19 pandemic but it has been included in the record-breaking 24-race calendar.
The Shanghai International Circuit’s return will deliver an additional race to spectators, with the Miami International Autodrome also getting its maiden taste of Sprint action.
Meanwhile, F1 has announced that Austria, Austin, Brazil and Qatar have been retained from last season to form the latest six-round Sprint roster for the upcoming campaign.
Interlagos has hosted a Sprint race every year since its inception in 2021 and has proved to be popular, while the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg was added the following year.
Both the Circuit of the Americas and the Losail International Circuit, which returned to the F1 roster after a one-off appearance in 2021, hosted Sprint rounds last season.
However, the Baku City Circuit in Azerbaijan and Spa-Francorchamps have been removed from the selection and will remain on the calendar as standalone grand prix events.
The Sprint alteration was introduced in 2021 as a means to enhance select grand prix weekends, but substantial tweaks have been made in the intervening years amid criticism.
Aside from increasing the number of Sprint races each year, F1 also elected to extend the points positions down from only the first three to include the top eight runners.
Further changes followed this year with the introduction of a second qualifying session, titled Sprint Shootout, in place of FP2, to separate Sprint sessions from the grand prix.
But the revised schedule has continued to divide opinion following a series of drab events that revealed the performance trends of the cars prior to Sunday’s main encounter.
During the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix weekend it was announced that the F1 Commission had granted its approval for more modifications to be submitted ahead of next season.
Those changes are still under consideration and the final proposal will be submitted to the F1 Commission at some stage in January, most likely towards the end of the month.
It is touted that Sprint Qualifying will be moved back to Friday, followed by the Sprint on Saturday before the one-hour qualifying session for the grand prix later that day.
Aside from the racing aspect, the format came under intense scrutiny at the United States GP after Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton’s post-race disqualifications.
Mercedes claimed parc ferme restrictions on the Sprint weekend contributed to the squad being unable to discover that its set-up would wear the plank beyond the mandated amount across a race distance on the bumpy Circuit of the Americas track surface.
Wider format options under review could include retaining the current system in place and adapting the parc ferme regulations on Sprint weekends to provide more flexibility.
Elsewhere, a more radical move to reverse part of the grid from Sprint qualifying is being discussed to understand how this could be effectively implemented.
Finally, it has been confirmed that F1 has no immediate plans to extend the number of Sprint races beyond the current figure of six to avoid constant changes being made.
Full F1 2024 Sprint Calendar
- China – Shanghai International Circuit (April 19-21)
- Miami – Miami International Autodrome (May 03-05)
- Austria- Red Bull Ring (28-30 June)
- USA – Circuit of The Americas (October 18-20)
- Brazil – Interlagos (November 01-03)
- Qatar – Losail International Circuit (November 29-December 01)
