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Formula One to include six sprint races for the 2023 season. The upcoming season will see the number of sprint races doubling from three races in 2021 and 2022. When an F1 Sprint race is part of the weekend, the standard one-hour qualifying session is shifted to Friday. This is followed by a 100-kilometre dash on Saturday, which is used to determine the starting order for Sunday’s main event.
As mentioned earlier, the 2022 F1 season had three sprint races out of which two were won by the reigning World Champion Max Verstappen. The Red Bull driver took the victory in the first sprint race at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola. The Dutchman then registered another win at Red Bull’s home Grand Prix in Austria. The last sprint race of the season was won by Mercedes Driver George Russell at Interlagos in Brazil.
On Wednesday, F1 formally confirmed the six sprint locations for 2023, which are:
Azerbaijan - Baku City Circuit (April 30)
Austria - Red Bull Ring (July 2)
Belgium - Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (July 30)
Qatar - Losail International Circuit (October 8)
USA - Circuit of The Americas (October 2 2)
Brazil - Interlagos (November 5)
Formula 1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali talked about the increase of sprint races from three to six for next year and stated that a positive reaction from the fans was one of the biggest driving forces behind the decision. He said, “We have seen a hugely positive reaction to the F1 Sprint events during the first two years of its running, and we can’t wait to bring even more action to fans with six events next year, including our first US F1 Sprint in Austin.”
“The introduction of the F1 Sprint has created a race weekend that includes three days of competitive racing action and brings more entertainment to fans of the sport as well as additional value for key stakeholders including teams, broadcasters, partners, and host venues,” he further continued.