Azerbaijan GP: F1 confirms new 'sprint shootout' qualifying format for sprint race weekends

The 2023 Formula 1 season already boasts a record 23 race weekends, but that did not stop the F1 Commission from introducing a revised sprint weekend format that would increase the number of competitive elements in the affected Grands Prix.

On Tuesday, F1 confirmed the introduction of a new standalone Saturday sprint qualifying session, which has been labelled as the "Sprint Shootout." The rules were discussed between team sporting directors and the FIA in the Sporting Advisory Committee before being put to a vote and approved via a unanimous decision by the F1 Commission. It has since been approved by the the World Motor Sport Council.

The latest regulation change was finalised over the F1 "spring break," just in time for the first sprint race of the season at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix which takes place from April 28-30. The other sprint race weekends are scheduled to take place in Austria, Belgium, Qatar, USA and Sao Paulo.

Following the new regulations, what would the timetable look like over the course of the weekend?

Friday Schedule:

Practice 1: Friday 13:30-14:30

Qualifying: Friday 17:00-18:00

The race weekend officially kicks off with Free Practice (FP1) just past noon on Friday. The session lasts an hour before the teams get two and a half hours off to finalise tweaks in their car set-ups and to repair possible damages incurred from the practice runs.

Then, Qualifying will commence at 17:00. At this point, one of the big changes will be implemented. Instead of using the Friday Qualifying results to set the grid for the Saturday Sprint, the results will instead be used to set the grid order for Sunday's Main Race (pending any penalties).

This means that the Sprint Race results on Saturday won't affect the order for the Main Race apart from penalties which we will discuss later. This aims to give drivers more confidence to race freely during the Sprint without fear of losing positions for the Sunday event.

Saturday becomes a standalone feature event

Sprint Shootout: Saturday 12:30-13:14

Sprint Race: Saturday 17:30-18:00

The changes have been designed to create a standalone Saturday event that doesn't impact the grid for Sunday's main race in an attempt to encourage drivers to push harder, as a mistake will be less costly.

The revised weekend timetable also eliminates the Saturday FP2 session, which is now replaced by the three-part Sprint Shootout qualifying. As the name suggests, this determines the starting grid for the sprint race later the same day.

The sprint shootout will mirror traditional qualifying with a three-part session. However, there will be reduced session lengths as follows: 12 minutes for SQ1, 10 minutes for SQ2, and eight minutes for SQ3.

The changes also affect the use of tyres, and as a result, the decision was made to allow teams to use three sets of new tyres across the three shootout sessions. Medium tyres will be mandatory for SQ1 and SQ2, and softs for SQ3.

The points allocation for the sprint race will remain the same as the previous season, with the top eight scoring 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 points, respectively.

Sunday Schedule

Main race: Sunday 15:00

(All times displayed are local track times. Please check your local listings)

The Main Race on Sunday should go on as before, but there a few things that need to be noted. While the events on Saturday are meant to be independent of the Main Race as much as possible, there are a few things that remain consequential.

For example, any driver who incurs a penalty during the sprint race and was unable to serve it then will therefore be made to serve it on Sunday. Likewise, gearbox and power unit penalties will also be saved for the Grand Prix.

The matter is confusing on paper especially before any of the possible penalties have actually taken place. However, as a general guideline, Friday sessions are directly connected to Sunday's main race and Saturday is meant to operate as independently as possible.

Here is a summary of the FIA regulations as shared by Motorsport.com:

- A grid penalty incurred in P1 or Qualifying will apply to the Main Race on Sunday.
- A grid penalty incurred in the Sprint Shootout will apply to the Sprint Race.
- A grid penalty incurred in the Sprint (Saturday) if not served, will apply to the Main Race (Sunday).
- A breach of parc ferme will result in a pitlane start for the Sprint and Race.
- PU penalties will only apply to the Main Race (unless they are also a parc ferme breach).

It remains to be seen if the regulation changes will be applied smoothly, or if a number of debates will emerge after this weekend's event at Azerbaijan. Reigning world champion Max Verstappen has previously warned against too many regulation changes, and has even threatened to quit the sport if he disagrees with many of the changes.