F1 Champion Verstappen Comes Clean About Sprint Qualifying

• Brazil’s Interlagos will play host to the third and final Sprint weekend of 2022.

• Under current regulations, Friday’s qualifying sets the grid for Saturday’s Sprint race—of duration 100 km—and the result of Sprint determines the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

• It is understood that Formula 1 is assessing the structure of a Sprint weekend.

Formula 1 Sprint returns at this weekend’s São Paulo Grand Prix, but world champion Max Verstappen says he is not a huge fan of the format, amid mooted changes for 2023.

Brazil’s Interlagos will play host to the third and final Sprint weekend of 2022, and it will mark the first time that Sprint has been held at the same venue.

Last year’s Sprint in Brazil was undoubtedly the finest in its brief history, with Lewis Hamilton charging from the back to fifth on Saturday, before going on to win the Grand Prix itself from 10th on the grid on Sunday.

Under current regulations, Friday’s qualifying sets the grid for Saturday’s Sprint race—of duration 100 km—and the result of Sprint determines the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Points are awarded to the top eight Sprint finishers on an 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis, which is an expansion on 2021, when only the top 3 finishers were given points, during its debut year.

This year, runaway champion Verstappen has been the master of Sprint, taking the checkered flag at the Emilia Romagna and Austrian Grands Prix, and is aiming for a hat-trick this weekend. But, as he targets a clean sweep and a record-extending 15th overall season win, he has doubts over the format.

“I honestly am just not a big fan of it because I feel like we don’t really race,” said Verstappen on Thursday. “Because, okay, there are a few points you get, but you also know you can’t really risk it because the main race is where you really get the points. You don’t do a pit stop so you just put on the tire which will last the distance. Overall, you don’t really see a lot of overtaking unless a car is out of position, so it is not really fun for me.

“I do like the only having one practice and then going straight into qualifying, as it’s less practice for everyone to get up to speed and you need to nail the set-up, but I always feel going into a Sprint you’re not really risking a lot and wanting to play safe.”

Sprint will be expanded in 2023 to be included at six of the season’s 24 Grands Prix. The locations for Sprint have not yet been determined but are expected to be revealed before the end of the year.

It is understood that Formula 1 is assessing the structure of a Sprint weekend, with the main talking point likely to surround whether to completely separate the Sprint race from the Grand Prix. It is an idea that has been previously mooted and is supported by Haas boss Guenther Steiner.

“I’m in favor of more Sprints as it makes the overall race weekend interesting by having qualifying on Friday,” said Steiner. “What I’d like even more is having qualifying for the Sprint on Friday and qualifying for the main race on Saturday morning, as the free practice currently isn’t very meaningful for anyone. Then on Saturday afternoon you have the Sprint, followed by the main event on Sunday.”