The farce of the F1 Sprint and the elephant in the room – Formula One has rolled into cowboy territory in Texas and the weekend will see the much loved Sprint format on track and the shootout begins on Friday afternoon for pole position for the shortened race on Saturday morning.
The Sprint is loved by the F1 hosts given since its inception in 2021, pretty much every Sprint weekend has seen record ticket sales on Friday when the regular weekends have just practice sessions.
Yet unfortunately, the Sprint is often a fairly dull affair of just 100km in length. Sixteen of the twenty one held so far have been won from pole position. The first Sprint not to be won from pole was the last of the 2022 season in Brazil – at the time there were just three of these events a season and qualifying was a single track session which decided the starting order for both Sprint and Grand Prix.
Just five Sprints won from outside pole
The following season the number of Sprint’s was increased to six and again it was in Brazil where the only win not from pole position was seen, there’s something about Interlagos which has thrown up some of F1’s most historic moments. Lando Norris claimed pole but it was Max Verstappen who made a daring move around the outside who claimed the victory.
In 2024 Sprint qualifying was separated from that which set the order for the Grand Prix and is now held on the Friday afternoon instead of a practice session. And the final two of the events were won from outside the number one starting position. It was again in Brazil again where the first win was not from pole in the Sprint as Oscar Piastri was passed Shellie by his team mate Lando Norris who went on to win the shorter of the two races held that weekend.
The next Sprint that year saw the reversal of the McLaren driver’s fortunes with Norris claiming pole but Piastri taking the chequered flag.
This year Lewis Hamilton was the quickest on Friday afternoon in China, he went on to hold on for victory giving him his first win in a Ferrari car. Come Miami, rising star Kimi Antonelli topped the timesheets, but a challenge in turn one saw him run wide, and Lando Norris went on to win the race. There are three more Sprint races over the final six events of 2025 with the first this weekend in Austin Texas.
Sainz claims Sprints spoils Sunday’s GP
So will this be an epic thriller on Saturday morning as the temperatures begin to soar, or just another procession as most Sprint’s have proven to be? Carlos Sainz has now spoke out about how the Sprint race ruins for many the unpredictable nature of the Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Williams driver was asked about how he felt about the new additions to the Sprint calendar in 2026, which will see Singapore, Zandvoort and Montreal added to the roster. “It’s a good example of maybe not the right ones,” he told assembled media in Austin, although in a moment of desperation suggested a weather intervention may change the predictability of the events. “But at the same time, you never know. You might get a wet race in Canada or a shower in Singapore, and it turns out to be the best sprint in history,” he added with a wry smile.
The Spaniard moved the conversation along stating, “for me, it’s more the format change that I think is required for the sprint, and I think Stefano [Domenicali, CEO of the Formula One Group] is open to do that. For me, right now, the sprint, I’m not a big fan, because it unveils what the first stint of Sunday is gonna be like. Because qualifying is the same format almost, and Sunday is almost the first stint, no? Maybe with a bit lighter car, but still the same set of tyres.”
Carlos Sainz argues the Sprint format needs a radical overhaul, so it doesn’t reveal so ,much about the race pace of the Grand Prix coming on Sunday.
Verstappen publicly mocks McLaren
“Try different things” says Spaniard
“One simple idea could be to make sure everyone does the sprint race on soft tyres, which is a high deg tyre,” he explained. “Normally, very little tracks we choose the soft tyre for the first stint of the race. That could be a very easy, short-term solution, also because we are throwing five sets of tyes in the bin, soft tyres, almost every week. And we put one lap on them in quali, and then we give them back, and they go — I don’t know where Pirelli stores them. But definitely for us, it’s only a one-lap tyre in many, many tracks.”
Yet Carlos believes even this will be “not enough” to change the current processional state of affairs and to make them “more spicy” different formats must be considered. When asked about reverse grids to fix the problem, the Spaniard was hesitant in h8s reply.
“If it works, great; if it doesn’t, change it again, like we did in the past. Maybe,” he said. “I’m not a big fan of reverse grids, but I wouldn’t be completely opposed to trying something different in this case. I also think a sprint quali could be different, maybe with something of a super pole in SQ3.
“Just keep adding something different to the weekend. Keep trying different things, maybe — and as I said, not be too critical about it. If it works, great, and it’s better for the format. If it doesn’t, don’t be scared to say, ‘put it in the bin’ and acknowledge it didn’t work and try something different.”
More Sprints on the way
Speaking to media before the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, Domenicali expressed a desire to continue evolving the offerings of a race weekend, saying, “We need to discuss the formats for the next few years. “Everyone wants more Sprint races instead of Friday free practice, from the promoters to the fans.” MotoGP,recently acquired by F1’s owners utilises the Sprint weekend format at every one of its race weekends. Domenicali said that would be a “big step” for F1 as it continues in its primary goal in evolving its offer to new demographics.
The current elephant in the room is that the Sprint is highly favoured by race promoters and the upper echelons of F1. Yet for fans its a dull affair, although marginally better than a technical practice session. For 2024, Stefano Domenicali as the season began, demanded that Sprint qualifying be separated from that of the Grand Prix and the teams hastily agreed and the plan was enacted.
As Carols Sainz argues, the Sprint needs saving and hastily. It’s time for the great and good to experiment and try different ideas to “spice it up.” Pirelli are doing there best to ensure the racing in Austin is as interesting as possible as for only the second time in history they are bringing non-consecutive compounds the C1, C3 and C4 which should offer varying strategic options during the Grand Prix.
Russell reveals “very generous” Mercedes contract
The question of George Russell’s future with Mercedes has been hanging in the air for months. After months of speculation, anonymous paddock gossip and endless British tabloid ‘exclusives’, Mercedes finally confirmed what many had suspected: Russell isn’t going anywhere. He’ll continue to pilot the Mercedes into the 2026 season, armed with a smile, confidence and a bank account with its own gravitational pull.
His future is secured, but the past is still being debated; for weeks, reports had claimed that talks between Russell and the team had stalled, prompting Formula 1’s rumour mill to work overtime. Was George unhappy? Was Toto Wolff looking for someone else? Had there been a top-secret meeting with McLaren?
In reality, it seems the biggest delay came from Russell himself, who simply wanted to tidy up his ‘off-track’ affairs, perhaps his preferred close-up angles on Netflix or his favourite coffee blend at Brackley…. READ MORE
With over 30 years of experience in Formula 1 as an insider journalist, I have built trusted connections across the paddock, from race engineers and mechanics to senior team figures. At The Judge 13, I and a handful of trusted colleagues share exclusive Formula 1 news, expert analysis and behind-the-scenes stories you will not find in mainstream motorsport media.
