It’s finally been confirmed which six venues will host a Sprint race in 2024, with the list consisting of two circuits which have never hosted a Sprint weekend.
For 2024, the Sprint races will take place in China, Miami, Austria, Austin, Brazil and Qatar; however, the format going forwards is still being discussed by the sport’s stakeholders and the teams.
It means that Azerbaijan and Belgium will not host a Sprint weekend, despite it having been a feature of their respective races in 2023.
China and Miami have taken their place, with the two venues having never hosted a Sprint race before.
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The Chinese Grand Prix being scheduled as a Sprint weekend is particularly symbolic, given that 2024 will mark F1’s first race in the nation since 2019, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
China will host the first Sprint weekend of the season on April 19-21, whilst the final three sprint events will take place across the last six races of the 2024 season.
F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali is thrilled to confirm the host circuits of the 2024 Sprint races and is expecting the addition of China and Miami to result in more “great racing”.
“I am delighted to announce six exciting venues for next season’s F1 Sprint events, including two new hosts China and Miami, both of which will be fantastic additions and provide great racing for all our fans at the race and watching at home,” said F1 president and CEO Stefano Domenicali.
“Since its creation in 2021, the Sprint has been consistent in delivering increased audiences on TV, more on track entertainment for the fans at events and increased fan engagement on social and digital platforms, and we are looking forward to the exciting events next year.”
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As mentioned, the Sprint format itself for 2024 is still being finalised, with the final proposal expected to be discussed at the next F1 Commission in mid-January.
One proposed plan going forwards is for Sprint qualifying to take place on the Friday evening, with the Sprint race then taking place on the Saturday morning.
Qualifying for the main race will then return to its traditional spot on the Saturday afternoon, whilst Sunday will remain as purely the feature race.