Formula 1 has confirmed changes to the F1 Sprint format for the six occasions that can be staged throughout the 2023 season.
The first Sprint Race will happen this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
F1 Sprint made its debut again in 2021, with the unique format seeing qualifying shifted to Friday and setting the grid for a brand new 100-kilometre sprint on Saturday, which in flip decided the beginning order for the principle occasion on Sunday.
However, tweaks for this 12 months imply F1 Sprint will successfully change into a standalone characteristic of race weekends when the format is used – with the result bearing no impression on the grid for the Grand Prix itself.
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Fridays will now embody an FP1 session and normal qualifying session to set the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix, whereas Saturdays will embody the persevering with 100km race with an extra, previous qualifying session known as the ‘Sprint Shootout’.’
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The first Sprint Race takes place this Saturday
The shootout can be a shorter session than conventional qualifying, with SQ1 set to run for 12 minutes, SQ2 for 10 minutes and SQ3 for eight minutes, and replaces the earlier FP2 seen on the Saturday morning of Sprint weekends. New tyres are necessary for every section, with mediums for SQ1 and SQ2, and softs for SQ3.
Given that the F1 Sprint is now contained throughout the race weekend, and any incidents is not going to compromise beginning positions for the Grand Prix, drivers ought to have extra incentive to push throughout the 100km race, which often lasts round half an hour.
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Points for the F1 Sprint race stay the identical, with eight handed out to the winner, seven to second place, six to 3rd and so forth down to at least one in eighth – each drivers and groups will log factors of their respective championships.
There’s 20 races remaining this season
In addition to Azerbaijan’s Baku City Circuit, the opposite F1 Sprint venues for 2023 are Austria (Red Bull Ring), Belgium (Spa-Francorchamps), Qatar (Lusail Circuit), the United States (Circuit of The Americas) and Sao Paulo (Interlagos).
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