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A Formula 1 weekend has become a must-see, three-day social event wrapped around a grand prix. For 24 weekends out of the year, F1 takes over a city and brings with it its open-wheel, single-seat race cars and a full-blown party atmosphere. While the bulk of the F1 season consists of traditional grand prix weekends, six of those weekends are reserved for standalone sprint races. Here's a breakdown of the F1 sprint races and how they work: What is an F1 sprint race? A sprint is a short race that covers 100 km -- or about one-third of a typical grand prix distance -- and lasts about 30 minutes. This shorter length encourages a more dynamic and less strategic race. Unlike a grand prix, a sprint race has no pit stops. Just flat-out, aggressive racing from start to finish. How does an F1 sprint race work? During a traditional grand prix weekend, F1 drivers take the track for five sessions -- three hourlong practice sessions (two on Friday and another on Saturday), an hourlong qualifying session on Saturday, and the grand prix main event on Sunday. On a sprint weekend, two of those practice sessions are deleted. Instead, there's one practice session on Friday, followed by a qualifying session that sets the grid for the sprint race. That qualifying session replaces the second practice session. Then the actual sprint race takes place Saturday instead of the usual third practice session. Qualifying for the grand prix happens as normal later in the day on Saturday, followed by the grand prix on Sunday. How does F1 sprint qualifying work? Qualifying for an F1 sprint race takes place on Friday afternoon and is split into three stages. The five slowest drivers are eliminated after the first stage, before five more are cut during the second. The third qualifying stage determines the grid for the 10 remaining drivers. The fastest driver will start from the front of the pack in Saturday's sprint race. How do points work for sprint races? Extra points are available on a sprint weekend. The winner of the sprint race is awarded eight points. The second-place finisher gets seven points. Third place receives six points, fourth place gets five points, and so on until the driver who finishes eighth receives a single point. Why did F1 introduce sprint races? F1 introduced the sprint race format in 2021 with the goal of giving fans more meaningful race action throughout the weekend. F1 holds sprint races at six of the season's most suitable locations. 2024 sprint race calendar April 19-21 - Shanghai May 3-5 - Miami June 28-30 - Austria Oct. 18-20 - Austin, Texas Nov. 1-3 - São Paulo Nov. 29-Dec. 1 - Qatar 2025 sprint race calendar March 21-23 - Shanghai May 2-4 - Miami July 25-27 - Belgium Oct. 17-19 - Austin, Texas Nov. 7-9 - São Paulo Nov. 28-30 - Qatar Check out the ESPN Formula One hub page for the latest news, analysis, standings, the "Unlapped" podcast and more.
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