A Different Weekend Structure
At 6 circuits per season, the weekend format changes completely. Instead of three practice sessions plus qualifying plus race, a Sprint weekend compresses everything: FP1 Friday, then Sprint Qualifying (SQ) Friday afternoon, Sprint Race Saturday morning, Grand Prix Qualifying Saturday afternoon, main race Sunday. There is only ONE practice session before Sprint Qualifying.
100km of Flat-Out Racing
The Sprint race is approximately 100km — roughly one third of a Grand Prix distance. No mandatory pit stops. Drivers can push from the first lap to the last. The top 8 finishers score championship points: 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Because there is almost no practice before Sprint Qualifying, the grid order for the Sprint is often surprising. Teams that nail the setup quickly have a massive advantage.