There will be double the amount of Sprint races in the 2023 F1 calendar with six venues chosen to hold rounds.
Baku, Spa, Losail and Austin will host a sprint race for the first time since the introduction of the format last year. The Red Bull Ring in Austria held a sprint event for the first time this year while the Brazilian GP held at Interlagos has held two sprint events at its track.
The format will be the same as the three F1 Sprint events which were held last year on the Saturday before the grand prix the following day and the top eight drivers awarded points.
The popularity of the short events lasting between 25 and 30 minutes has resulted in six of next year's 24-race calendar hosting the additional Saturday race with qualifying pushed forward to Friday at each round. Imola was one of the three venues to hold Sprint events last season but hasn't been chosen to do so again next year.
“The selection of the events came following research to calculate the most suitable tracks for the F1 Sprint format including overtaking opportunities, close racing and high-speed sections,” F1 said in a statement.
The finishing positions in the Sprint events will define the grid for the main grand prix the following day. Not everybody has been happy with the shortened races with world champion Max Verstappen expressing his dislike for the shortened format.
Image:
Getty Images)An F1 statement claimed that the Sprint event at this year's Austrian GP attracted a 39 per cent increase in audience compared with qualifying at the same race the year before.
"We have seen a hugely positive reaction to the F1 Sprint events during the first two years of its running," said F1 president and chief executive officer Stefano Domenicali.
"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."
The 2023 F1 calendar begins in Bahrain on March 5 with the first Sprint event coming at the fourth round in Baku on April 30. This will be followed by Sprint events in Austria (July 2), Spa (July 30), Losail (October 8), Austin (October 22) and Brazil (November 5).
