F1 has turned its sprint race into a standalone Saturday event, with sprint qualifying deciding the starting grid followed by the sprint race later in the day. Here’s how the latest sprint race format changes will work.
During qualifying for Sunday’s grand prix, Red Bull’s Max Verstappen took pole position, initially from McLaren’s Lando Norris but the British driver dropped to 10th after losing both his Q3 laps for exceeding track limits.
Oscar Piastri also lost his best Q3 time due to track limits and the reshuffled order has put Mercedes duo second and third, with George Russell heading Lewis Hamilton.
Verstappen is likely to wrap up the 2023 F1 world drivers’ title in the Qatar sprint race as he needs just three points to seal the crown – which effectively means finishing sixth place or higher in the sprint, irrespective of what his rivals can produce.
Sprint qualifying for the Qatar GP starts at 4:00pm local time (2:00pm BST), using a shorter version of the traditional Q1, Q2 and Q3 knockout session format.
Date: Saturday 7 October 2023
Start time: 4:00pm local time – 2:00pm BST
The sprint race for the Qatar GP starts at 8:30pm local time (6:30pm BST), covering a distance of 19 laps or 60 minutes.
Date: Saturday 7 October 2023
Start time: 8:30pm local time – 6:30pm BST