MOTORSPORT – The Canadian, Dutch and Singapore Grands Prix will become Formula One sprint weekends for the first time next season on a list of six hosts announced by the sport yesterday.
The three venues join Shanghai, Miami and Silverstone for a format which sees a 100km race on Saturday, paying points to the top eight finishers, before the main grand prix is held on Sunday.
Shanghai and Miami will be sprint hosts for a third successive year while the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last hosted one in 2021, the season when sprints were introduced.
Brazil’s Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, which has been a sprint weekend since 2021, reverts to the traditional format as do this year’s other sprints in Belgium, the US Grand Prix in Austin and Qatar.
Dutch Grand Prix venue Zandvoort, a home race for Red Bull’s four-times world champion Max Verstappen, is due to drop off the calendar after next year and the sprint element had already been announced.
Singapore’s inclusion is a surprise, with the night race offering few overtaking opportunities on the city streets.
Formula One said television viewership for sprint weekends, which feature qualifying on Friday instead of a second practice session, in 2024 was on average 10 per cent greater than those without the Saturday race.
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