REMINDER: How do F1 sprint rules work?

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After a two-week break from race action, the F1 field is set to return to race at Spa-Franchorchamps which plays host the Belgian Grand Prix. F1Technical's senior writer Balazs Szabo explains how the sporting rules work on a sprint weekend.

While the standard weekend format features two hour-long free practice sessions on Friday and a further hour on Saturday followed by qualifying, the current Sprint format features just one free practice session to start the track action on Friday, followed by a qualifying session later that day.

This decides the grid for a 100 kilometre race, approximately one third distance of the normal race, held on Saturday morning, which is followed by qualifying for Sunday’s actual Grand Prix.

Qualifying for the Sprint is split into three segments that are shorter than those for the Grand Prix 12 minutes for SQ1, ten for SQ2 and eight for SQ3.

The number of drivers eliminated at the end of each section is the same as in normal qualifying, five at the end of each of the first two sessions.

For the first two parts, all drivers must use only the Medium compound, before switching to the Soft for the final session. As for the short race itself, tyre choice is free and there is no need to make a pit stop.

There is also a different slick tyre allocation per driver compared to a standard weekend: they each still have two sets of Hard, but now they get an extra set of Medium, going from three to four and two fewer sets of Soft, from eight to six, for a total of 12 instead of the usual 13.

The sprint format was introduced at Silverstone in 2021, and there have been 20 Sprint races to date and Max Verstappen has been the master of this discipline with 11 wins so far.

How are points awarded?

Points are awarded from the F1 Sprint race to the top eight finishers: 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1.

There is no point awarded for fastest lap. The top three from the Sprint race receive a plaque in parc fermé, but do not count as an official F1 podium. Winning the Sprint race also does not count as a Grand Prix victory.

How Many Sprints Are There in 2025?

Just like 2023 and 2024, there will be six F1 Sprint races this season. China, Miami, and Belgium will host the format before the summer break, before Austin, São Paulo and Qatar host three further Sprint events later in the year.

It means Interlagos in Brazil will remain the only track to hold the shortened F1 format since it was first introduced in 2021.