Sprint races

[Andy B]

With the announcement that there's to be another six Sprint weekends in 2026 they are saying they would like to have more even though statistics show that having them has not improved gate or online numbers.

[Dare]

With a cost cap their a waste of money

[cosworth151]

The only way to justify sprint races is if they bring back T-cars. That way a team won't have their race ruined if they total out a car during the sprint

[John S]

I'm of the opinion that 6 at carefully chosen tracks spice things up a bit, note the Ferrari win earlier in the year.

My problem is they often put them on at unsuitable tracks, if it's difficult to overtake for the main race the sprint adds nothing as it'll probably be a follow the leader race with no one wanting to risk 50/50 (or less) overtakes in case they damage their chances in the main event with big damage ahead of Quali.

I guess we could have reverse grid Sprints to spice things up, however these type of races should have their own championship & not score points in the main WDC or WCC. Again though same thing applies who will risk big damage ahead of main race Quali? Will we really see balls out racing to collect points? 

Perhaps the answer for reverse grid sprints is to allow a spare T car ready to go in each team, obviously some rules on when it can be used may need to apply. Then I think you can add points to normal championships.

[John S]

The only way to justify sprint races is if they bring back T-cars. That way a team won't have their race ruined if they total out a car during the sprint

Hey Cossie you just beat me to subject of T cars by less than a minute. 

We're either both very wise or plain       

[Jericoke]

I think the sprint races are a good idea... at the same time, they feel like homework, extra F1 I need to watch lol

if I was attending a race weekend in person, I'd LOVE to have more competitive sessions to watch.  I think they're a good fit for races with few support series.  (Seriously, when I went to the race in Montreal, the support race was just Nissan Mircas.  Jacques Villeneuve l'Oncle raced though, which is about the only thing the crowd cared about)

[cosworth151]

The only way to justify sprint races is if they bring back T-cars. That way a team won't have their race ruined if they total out a car during the sprint

Hey Cossie you just beat me to subject of T cars by less than a minute. 

We're either both very wise or plain       

Or just that we're old enough to remember T-cars. 

When the USGP was at Indy they had a full slate of support series: Porsche Carrera Cup, Ferrari Challenge, Indy Lites and 1 or 2 others.

[Jericoke]

The only way to justify sprint races is if they bring back T-cars. That way a team won't have their race ruined if they total out a car during the sprint

Hey Cossie you just beat me to subject of T cars by less than a minute. 

We're either both very wise or plain       

Or just that we're old enough to remember T-cars. 

When the USGP was at Indy they had a full slate of support series: Porsche Carrera Cup, Ferrari Challenge, Indy Lites and 1 or 2 others.

I appreciate that the usual first corner pileups/red flags in the 90s were dangerous, expensive and wasteful. But that sprint back to the pits to get to the T car ahead of your teammate was the REAL sprint they need to bring back!

[Dare]

I'm of the opinion that 6 at carefully chosen tracks spice things up a bit, note the Ferrari win earlier in the year.

My problem is they often put them on at unsuitable tracks, if it's difficult to overtake for the main race the sprint adds nothing as it'll probably be a follow the leader race with no one wanting to risk 50/50 (or less) overtakes in case they damage their chances in the main event with big damage ahead of Quali.

I guess we could have reverse grid Sprints to spice things up, however these type of races should have their own championship & not score points in the main WDC or WCC. Again though same thing applies who will risk big damage ahead of main race Quali? Will we really see balls out racing to collect points? 

Perhaps the answer for reverse grid sprints is to allow a spare T car ready to go in each team, obviously some rules on when it can be used may need to apply. Then I think you can add points to normal championships.

I would like the reverse grids. Let he back of the pack get
a feel what leading a race is. Might as well let the team drivers
swap cars too

[Andy B]

I'm of the opinion that 6 at carefully chosen tracks spice things up a bit, note the Ferrari win earlier in the year.

My problem is they often put them on at unsuitable tracks, if it's difficult to overtake for the main race the sprint adds nothing as it'll probably be a follow the leader race with no one wanting to risk 50/50 (or less) overtakes in case they damage their chances in the main event with big damage ahead of Quali.

I guess we could have reverse grid Sprints to spice things up, however these type of races should have their own championship & not score points in the main WDC or WCC. Again though same thing applies who will risk big damage ahead of main race Quali? Will we really see balls out racing to collect points? 

Perhaps the answer for reverse grid sprints is to allow a spare T car ready to go in each team, obviously some rules on when it can be used may need to apply. Then I think you can add points to normal championships.

I would like the reverse grids. Let he back of the pack get
a feel what leading a race is. Might as well let the team drivers
swap cars too

As the Sprint Quali and Race have nothing to do with the F1 Race what do you think will happen with reverse grids?
The slowest Qualifying ever!

[John S]

I'm of the opinion that 6 at carefully chosen tracks spice things up a bit, note the Ferrari win earlier in the year.

My problem is they often put them on at unsuitable tracks, if it's difficult to overtake for the main race the sprint adds nothing as it'll probably be a follow the leader race with no one wanting to risk 50/50 (or less) overtakes in case they damage their chances in the main event with big damage ahead of Quali.

I guess we could have reverse grid Sprints to spice things up, however these type of races should have their own championship & not score points in the main WDC or WCC. Again though same thing applies who will risk big damage ahead of main race Quali? Will we really see balls out racing to collect points? 

Perhaps the answer for reverse grid sprints is to allow a spare T car ready to go in each team, obviously some rules on when it can be used may need to apply. Then I think you can add points to normal championships.

I would like the reverse grids. Let he back of the pack get
a feel what leading a race is. Might as well let the team drivers
swap cars too

As the Sprint Quali and Race have nothing to do with the F1 Race what do you think will happen with reverse grids?
The slowest Qualifying ever!

Hey I hadn't thought of that Andy.   

I guess you could award 3,2,1 (or even just 1 for pole) WDC points for top 3 in Sprint Quali but race points count for separate championship. 

All that sounds rather artificial though don't it.

[cosworth151]

How about this: Have a coin toss at the end of quali to decide if it will be a regular or reverse grid. It would throw all kinds of uncertainty & strategy schemes into the mix.

[Jericoke]

How about this: Have a coin toss at the end of quali to decide if it will be a regular or reverse grid. It would throw all kinds of uncertainty & strategy schemes into the mix.

Change the scoring scheme of the sprints:  one point per pass.  Faster car qualifies at the back, has more opportunities to pass/earn points.

[Andy B]

How about just dump Sprint weekends?

[Dare]

How about just dump Sprint weekends?

How about going by how the cars finished in the last race.  Winner starts on last row and etc