Last year’s Formula 1 season saw the introduction of a sprint qualifying format at three Grands Prix, and the same will happen for the 2022 season. The F1 Commission has confirmed that the F1 Sprint format will be held at Emilia Romagna (April 22-24), Austrian (July 8-10) and Sao Paulo (November 11-13) Grands Prix following discussions with key stakeholders.
As before, F1 Sprint races will see drivers battle it out over 100 km (each race lasts around 25-30 minutes) on Saturday, with the result determining the starting grid for the main Grand Prix race on Sunday.
For the 2022 season, the points system for the F1 Sprint has been tweaked, with the top eight drivers scoring points instead of just the top three finishers in 2021. There’s also more incentive for drivers to perform well on Saturday, as the driver who finishes in pole position in a sprint race will now receive eight points, down to one point for the driver in eighth position.
Meanwhile, the commission said the driver who sets the fastest time in qualifying during Grand Prix weekends with a sprint race on Friday will be attributed “pole position.” This is different from the year before where the driver that won the sprint race earned the accolade. Qualifying will continue to determine the grid for Saturday’s F1 Sprint race, with the result of sprint race forming the line-up for the start of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
The F1 Commission also voted in favour of changes to the sporting regulations regarding how points are awarded should a Grand Prix not complete its intended race distance. This is important in light of last year’s Belgian Grand Prix that was infamous for being for being the shortest F1 race ever held, concluding early due to bad weather after the two-lap minimum rule was met behind the safety car.
Under the new rules, no points will be awarded unless at two racing laps have been completed without safety car or virtual safety car intervention. If less than 25% of the race distance has been completed when the session is ended, quarter points will be awarded.
Half points will be awarded in the event 25% to 50% of the race distance is completed, and if between 50% and 75% is completed, three-quarter points will be handed out instead. Above the 75% threshold, full points will be awarded accordingly to the top 10 finishers.
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Hi Gerard, i think you meant year 2022 and 2021 respectively instead of 2021 and 2020.
Becoming so complicated and confusing. Old system of winner takes all is much better.
2021 season or 2022 season?
Last year F1 was like watching Malay drama at 7pm on TV. Ending like crap..