NEW: Change to F1 sprint race format

F1 has today announced a fairly significant change to the format of race weekends that contain a sprint race.

Last season, a Grand Prix that included a sprint would see the outcome of a sprint race on a Saturday determine the grid for the main race on a Sunday. As a result, our Early Bru Point (EBP) pick deadline for predicting the driver who will start the race in pole position would be for the start of the sprint race, since the winner of the sprint would be awarded with Pole.

However, in a change for this season, F1 has announced that there will now be separate qualifying sessions for both the main race and the sprint, meaning they essentially take place independently from one another as races. A major reason behind this decision is so that drivers can attempt to be as successful in the sprint as possible without potentially jeopardising their chances in Sunday’s main race.

This news means that for this season, as we couldn’t anticipate this change ahead of the campaign, sprints are not something to consider when making your Superbru picks. The EBP deadline to select Pole will be the start of the main race qualifying session just as it would be for any Grand Prix that doesn’t feature a sprint race at all, though it's important to note that the qualifying session for the main race on weekends that include a sprint will be on Friday rather than Saturday.

If this new format proves to be successful and F1 choose to stick with the change for future seasons, we will adapt our game accordingly to include the ability to make some sprint predictions for the necessary Grand Prix weekends.

The first of 6 Grands Prix to include a Sprint in 2023 is this weekend’s Azerbaijan Grand Prix.