Teams agree to Saturday morning Sprint races, but oppose idea of introducing reverse grids

Teams agree to Saturday morning Sprint races, but oppose idea of introducing reverse grids. Teams agree to move the Sprint races on Saturday morning in 2024.

6 Sprints also in 2024
On Tuesday morning, Formula 1 officially announced the decision to confirm the number of 6 Sprints for the upcoming season. The locations for the short Saturday races will include two newcomers, Shanghai and Miami, and four events continuing from the past, such as Spielberg, Austin, San Paolo, and Lusail. Exiting the Sprint weekend, however, are the stages of Baku and Spa-Francorchamps. With 24 GPs on the calendar and 6 Sprints, F1 will reach a record-breaking 30 starts.

A Changing Format
As mentioned in the press release, the aim is to further streamline the weekend by creating a dedicated space to separate Sprint activities from those of the Grand Prix.

The specialized German magazine Auto, Motor und Sport has revealed that the proposal to be brought to the January F1 Commission meeting is to hold the Sprint Shootout—the qualification for the fast race—on Friday afternoon, with the actual Sprint being moved to Saturday morning. The goal is to have the two Sprint events back-to-back, with GP qualifications taking place on Saturday afternoon. According to the German publication, teams have reportedly reached an agreement on this aspect, but not yet on important details such as the Parc Ferme. The possibility on the table is to allow teams to modify their cars between the Saturday morning Sprint and the GP qualifying session on Saturday afternoon.

Reverse grid avoided for 2024?
In recent days, there has been talk of the possibility of having the Sprints with a reverse grid (inverted order compared to the championship standings) to liven up and create movement in a fast race that has often proven to be a faithful appetizer to the Sunday race. The proposal for a reverse grid is there, but teams seem to be resisting—according to Auto, Motor und Sport. While it will likely be rejected for 2024, the idea will not be abandoned for the future, although there is an intention from F1 to create a fixed format that does not undergo changes every year, including the number of Sprints, which is expected to remain at 6 in the medium term.