F1 Sprint Race Format 2025: Everything You Need to Know

F1 Sprint Race Format: The 2025 season will feature six sprint races, commencing with the Chinese Grand Prix scheduled for March 21-23, following the same format as in 2024.

Sprint qualifying will occur on Friday, following the weekend’s sole practice session.

The initial track activity on Saturday will be the 100km sprint.

Qualifying for the main race will take place as usual during the second session on Saturday.

The race on Sunday will remain unchanged.

Following the event in China, the remaining sprint races will be held in Miami, Belgium, the US Grand Prix in Austin, Sao Paulo, and Qatar.

What is the structure of the F1 sprint race?

Sprint qualifying consists of three sessions, during which the five slowest cars are eliminated in the first two sessions, similar to traditional qualifying.

These sessions, referred to as SQ1, SQ2, and SQ3, have durations of 12, 10, and 8 minutes, respectively.

The results will determine the grid for the 100km sprint race.

The top eight finishers will earn points, ranging from eight points for first place to one point for eighth place, which will contribute to the overall drivers’ championship standings.

What were the previous formats?

In 2023, both sprint sessions were held on Saturday, making them a distinct event.

The earlier session was sprint qualifying, which was succeeded by the sprint race.

Qualifying for the main race on Sunday occurred on Friday.

The initial format for sprint weekends, which was introduced in 2021, involved the Friday qualifying session determining the grid for the sprint, while the outcome of the sprint set the grid for the main grand prix.