F1 boss Ross Brawn is keen to see the number of Sprint weekends on next season's calendar doubled, with discussions to be held next week. The first of 2022's three Sprint races proved to be a success, with Max Verstappen hunting down and passing leader Charles Leclerc with just two laps to go at Imola. In doing so, Verstappen booked his place at the front of the grid for Sunday's Grand Prix and will start ahead of his World Championship rival. On Tuesday, there will be talks held over the possibility of doubling the number of Sprint weekends on the calendar for 2023, from three to six, with a majority of teams needing to agree for the proposal to be passed.
Teams will have final say on Sprint plan
Speaking following the 100-kilometre Sprint at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Brawn told members of the media, including RacingNews365.com : "On Tuesday, we want to discuss increasing it to six. We'd like to have six [Sprint] races next year. "I think we can see the success, and I think we didn't know quite where we were last year with the old cars. I think [the teams] can see the way this is feeding into the new cars and the philosophy of new cars. "I'm optimistic that they'll see the value in it and what we're giving the fans. "I think one thing you should always remember about the Sprint is that it gives you a great Friday as well. We have qualifying on Friday, we have three days of action for the fans, and we can't ignore that."
Brawn eases fears over more Sprint races
One concern amongst teams will be the extra cost of racing in three more Sprint events for 2023, whilst operating under the constraints of a budget cap. At present, there is an allowance within the budget cap framework to compensate teams by way of $150,000 per Sprint weekend. Brawn confirmed: "There is an allowance for the Sprint and that will just be multiplied by the number of events we have."
F1 has no other plans to change race weekend
Beyond increasing the number of Sprints, and pleased with the action-packed Friday it offers, Brawn has no other plans to change the format of F1's race weekends. "What I'd like to do is at least get to six [Sprint] races settled and then, after the three [2022] races, we can see if there are some format developments that we want to do," he explained. "The six races needs to pass on a simple majority; any format changes in the future would have to pass on a supermajority, so eight teams have to agree. "I think the important thing is to get the simple thing done first, then there may be scope in the future for evolving even further."
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