Love em or Hate em! There'll be more F1 Sprints next year

[John S]

Seems Sprint races are here to stay and we'll get more of them in future.
If we have to have them how many is too much?

https://f1i.com/news/568668-domenicali-hints-at-expansion-of-f1-sprint-calendar-in-2027.html

[Dare]

For me one is too many. Seems like a waste of the teams money

[lkjohnson1950]

 

One is definitely too many.

[Andy B]

The biggest problem is the teams are scared of damaging the car in a Sprint and not being able to repair it in time for the GP, I don't know who or why they want to kept and increase Sprints but they do nothing for me.

[Jericoke]

As a TV fan, the sprints feel like homework.  I don't watch practise, I'm used to F1 being a commitment to watching Qualifying and the Race.  And if I miss qualifying, that's fine, you still get to see the starting order on Race Day.  watching two extra sessions means freeing up time I don't normally free up, and often at times that aren't convenient.  Once I miss some F1, that means I can miss more F1.

HOWEVER, as someone who has been to a live race event:  no one goes to practise.  Even qualifying is under attended compared with the race.  The promoters make their money selling beers and tshirts, the more people you have, the more beers and tshirts you sell.  Having 4 competitive sessions instead of 2 means more people spending money.  More value for people who might make an F1 race the centrepiece of a vacation.

On balance, I'm okay with the sprints.  I think it adds value to the sport over all, which is better for the over all health. But it's like a baseball game in August when your team is 10 game back.  Fun to watch, but not important.

One thing I expected to happen which hasn't:  sprint specialist teams.  Some teams know they're not ready to win F1 races, but a sprint is different.  Qualifying is different, the race is different.  Create a car that works great over a short distance.  Cook the engines.  Burn out the brakes.  Give up your 15th place on Sunday for a 7th on Saturday.  Points is points.

[Alianora La Canta]

Hate them. The teams learn more from them than they did from the practice sessions they replaced, making the Grands Prix less varied and therefore less exciting. One is therefore too many.

From what I've seen, people don't go to the F1 sprint race. They go to the Grand Prix, and because the tickets are so expensive (and these days, nearly all are 3+ days or nothing), they see every F1 session they can, along with any and all support races that don't interfere with the need to occasionally drink, eat and go to the toilet. (Support race practise/qualifyings, on the other hand, remain less than fully-attended). Thus, it's the price that makes people spend money in F1, not the sessions. (I've been to a couple of Grands Prix; it was more true in the 2010s than the 2000s, and the price hikes since then will have made it more true every year).

If one really must have a sprint race, make Q3 a three-lap rolling start race and call that the sprint race. Pole is right there as a natural reward.