How does F1 Sprint Qualifying work?

In 2021, Formula 1 debuted Sprint Race weekends in a bid to improve the value for money for fans by reducing the amount of free practice sessions by adding an extra race and an extra qualifying session, so how does F1 Sprint Qualifying work?

Whilst it follows the traditional qualifying structure of Q1, Q2, Q3, with the bottom five drivers from each session being eliminated, there is a noticeable difference as drivers have less time to set their banker and push laps.

Additionally, as part of the sport’s and Pirelli’s net zero ambitions, drivers do not have a free tyre choice to play around with. In SQ1 and SQ2 they must run the medium tyre before they’re free to run the soft tyre in SQ3.

F1 Sprint Qualifying also takes place on a Friday, with the Grand Prix Qualifying occurring the next morning on the Saturday before the Sprint Race.

This means that there is a reduction of free practice and a loss of time to set up the car and gather simulation data, rewarding teams that arrive more prepared and can hit the ground running faster.

How many points does an F1 Sprin Race give out?

Sprint Races can make a significant boost to a team’s championship challenge. There are six F1 Sprint Races in 2024, resulting in a maximum of 90 points on offer for the likes of Red Bull, McLaren and Mercedes to duel it out over.

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The payout works by the winning driver collecting eight points, which descends all the way down to eighth place, who will collect just the one solitary point to add to their championship ambitions.

So through those six F1 events, Max Verstappen could collect 48 points which McLaren‘s Lando Norris is limited to a maximum of 30 points – an advantage worth as many points finishing second in the Grand Prix.

Here are the points positions below:

• 1^st place: Eight points.
• 2^nd place: Seven points.
• 3^rd place: Six points.
• 4^th place: Five points.
• 5^th place: Four points.
• 6^th place: Three points.
• 7^th place: Two points.
• 8^th place: One point.