Written by Vyas Ponnuri
Formula One has announced the sprint weekends for the upcoming 2025 season, with the sport continuing to run with the format of six sprint weekends out of 24 in the calendar. These races will take place in the form of a 100 km dash, with alterations to the format of a race weekend.
The six rounds chosen to host sprints in 2025 are: China, Miami, Belgium, Austin, Brazil, and Qatar. These venues carry over their status as sprint events from the 2024 season, while the Belgian round at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps replaces Austria's Red Bull Ring in the list of sprint weekends for 2025.
Formula One's first sprint weekend will be at the Shanghai International Circuit, China, which runs from March 21st - 23rd, the Chinese round pencilled in for round two of 24 in 2025.
The Chinese Grand Prix returned to Formula One this year, hosting a sprint weekend after a five-year hiatus from the sport.
While pundits and fans seemed skeptical if a returning round should be directly thrown into the deep end with a sprint weekend, the Chinese track proved its mettle, witnessing live viewing figures up by 40% during sprint qualifying and the sprint, compared to practice sessions at the previous two rounds in Australia and Japan.
Immediately following the Chinese weekend was the Miami Grand Prix, which also played host to a sprint race that garnered record viewing figures of 946,000, the highest for any sprint race ever since the format was introduced in 2021.
Miami will continue in its now usual spot in the first weekend of May, following the Middle Eastern double header of Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, the latter two held in April after the Holy month of Ramadan concludes.
The major change sees a fan favourite in the Red Bull Ring dropped from the roster of sprint weekends, but is replaced by another popular track, a former host of the sprint back in 2023 — the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.
The 7 km (4.3 mi) circuit has hosted one sprint event back in 2023, and will return to the forefront once again, guaranteed to provide plenty of overtaking action.
USA and Qatar retain their spots as sprint events on the calendar, having put on a show for the fans, the sprints dotted with plenty of overtaking action.
A fan favourite, the Interlagos circuit has arguably been the best location to host sprint races, with the 2023 running of the 100 km dash witnessing close battles and overtakes all race long, with drivers fancying their chances into the infield section as well.
Formula One also revised their sprint weekend format going into 2024, moving sprint qualifying to Friday, while the sprint took up its spot as the first event running on Saturday. A few hours after the end of the sprint, qualifying for the main race gets underway, in the traditional time slot for a race weekend.
This qualifying session sets the grid for the main race, which takes place on Sunday, as usual. While there doesn't seem to be a change in the formats heading into 2025, this is one development to be followed as the season takes its path.
Stefano Domenicali, President and CEO of Formula 1, said: “The Sprint has been a great success for Formula 1, bringing all our fans more action and racing on the track. We are seeing the proof of this in our audience data, fan attendance on Fridays and from the promoters and partners.
"As we prepare to celebrate our 75th anniversary in 2025 we will always celebrate our incredible history, but we must always be looking ahead, innovating, and improving to deliver the best for our growing and diverse fanbase.
"The Sprint is a great example of bringing new elements to our sport in a way that is respectful of the Championship, and I want to thank the six venues that will host the Sprint in 2025 and look forward to those incredible events throughout the season.”
It will be interesting to see the drivers go about the sprint weekends once again, in their quest to secure victory over the weekend.
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