F1 Sprint Races: How do they work and are there changes for 2026?

Hamilton ahead of Norris during FP1 at Silverstone — Photo: © IMAGO

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F1 Sprint Races: How do they work and are there changes for 2026?

Everything you need to know about the F1 sprint format in 2026

Sam Hall

Thursday 12 March 2026 11:43 Updated: 22:44

For 2026, F1 and the FIA have welcomed three new circuits as hosts of an F1 sprint weekend, and with 22 cars now on the grid, further changes have also been introduced.

The sprint format first debuted at the 2021 British Grand Prix, with Silverstone returning this year as a sprint host circuit for the first time since the inaugural event.

In 2021 and 2022, there were three sprint weekends and despite being greeted with mixed reactions, teams agreed to double this number in 2023 and beyond, with an altered format introduced for the 2024 season, which remains unchanged for 2026.

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Since its introduction, the sprint has become a popular feature on the F1 calendar, providing fans with competitive action every single day of a race weekend, with the FIA recently admitting that talks had taken place over the potential to grow the sprint calendar to have as many as 12 sprint weekends in the future.

What changed with F1 sprint races for 2024?

F1 tweaked the sprint format for the 2024 season with sprint qualifying, which decides the starting grid for the sprint race, moving to Friday following the free practice session.

The sprint race is then held on Saturday, followed by the traditional grand prix qualifying, which sets the stage for the main race on Sunday.

Although the sprint became its own confined event, points gained will still count towards the overall standings and the above format has remained in place for all the sprint weekends in 2026.

Are there any changes to the F1 sprint format in 2026?

The F1 sprint weekends will remain largely the same for 2026 despite the new chassis and power unit regulations that have come into play in the sport.

As was the case last season, drivers will only have one free practice session to get to grips with the track on Friday before sprint qualifying later in the day. Saturday's sessions then open with the 100km sprint race, with the grand prix qualifying to follow later in the day to decide the grid for the main event, which still takes place on Sunday.

One change that fans will notice is the fact that the six slowest cars will be eliminated during both SQ1 and SQ2 (the first two sessions of sprint qualifying) instead of five, and this is thanks to the arrival of F1's 11th team, Cadillac.

Friday's sprint qualifying will still follow the same layout as the 2025 season, with SQ1 lasting for 12 minutes, SQ2 for 10 and SQ3 for eight.

When are the F1 sprint races in 2026?

The calendar and sprint schedule has had a complete reshuffle for this year, with just two host tracks remaining the same.

Though six F1 sprint races are still scheduled for the 2026 championship, only Shanghai and Miami have retained their place on the sprint calendar. Instead of a sprint in Belgium, the shorter race will now take place in Canada, a second sprint in the US has been replaced by Silverstone, which will return to the sprint calendar for the first time since 2021. In place of the sprint at Interlagos will be the Zandvoort sprint weekend and finally, Qatar's sprint will be replaced by a 100km race in Singapore.

Here are the venues and dates of all six sprint races this year.

China - Shanghai International Circuit (Saturday, March 14) USA - Miami International Autodrome (Saturday, May 2) Canada - Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve, Montreal (Saturday, May 23) Great Britain - Silverstone (Saturday, July 4) Netherlands - Zandvoort (Saturday, August 22) Singapore - Marina Bay Street Circuit (Saturday, October 10)

What points are on offer in F1 sprint races?

When the sprint was first introduced in 2021, F1 drivers received three points for winning the sprint, two for finishing second, and one for coming in third.

As this offered little to no incentive to put cars on the line for drivers in the midfield, this was altered in 2022 to the rewards system, which remains unchanged for 2026.

Keen to strike a balance that keeps Sunday’s grand prix as the main focus, a points system was agreed upon that sees the victor score eight, the second-place finisher seven, all the way down to eighth place, where one point is awarded.

There is no point handed out for setting the fastest lap in either the sprint or a full length grand prix in 2026 after the rule wasabolished for the 2025 season.