What is the format for F1 sprint races in 2026?
There are six sprint races in the 2026 season and here is all you need to know about how the format works.
George Russell leads the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton at the opening sprint race in China in March [Getty Images] The 2026 Formula 1 season resumes following a five-week hiatus with the second of six sprint events at the Miami Grand Prix, from 1-3 May. The format is largely the same as last year except now the six slowest cars instead of five will be eliminated from the first two qualifying sessions because of Cadillac's arrival on the grid. Sprint qualifying takes place on Friday, after the only practice session of the weekend.
In Miami, first practice will run for 90 minutes instead of the usual hour to give teams and drivers extra time on track. The 100km sprint, which lasts about 30 minutes, is the first track action on Saturday. This weekend's sprint at the Miami International Autodrome is 19 laps.
Qualifying for the main race is in its usual spot as the second session on Saturday. The grand prix then takes place as normal on Sunday and starts at 21:00 BST. F1 makes changes to address new engine rules concerns How Russell is surprising himself in title race - and the positives of F1's new rules How does the F1 sprint race work?
Sprint qualifying has three sessions, where now the six slowest cars are knocked out from the first two - like normal qualifying. These sessions, known as SQ1, SQ2 and SQ3, last 12, 10 and eight minutes respectively. This will make up the grid for the sprint race.