F1 confirm 2025 sprint race calendar

F1 has unveiled its sprint venue line-up for 2025, with one change made compared to this year's calendar.

Belgium returns to the agenda after its showing in 2023, replacing Austria. There will again be six sprint events, with China, Miami, Austin, São Paulo and Qatar also on the calendar, as per this year.

RacingNews365 understands the decision behind a similar calendar is based on what it considers to be the best circuits for staging a sprint and what works for the promoters.

At this stage, there are no proposed changes to the format, with the race a one-third distance event compared to a grand prix, and with the top-eight drivers scoring points from eight for the winner to one for eighth place.

Discussions have taken place within the F1 Commission this year over potential tweaks, albeit with no definitive conclusions drawn. It is understood talks will continue later this year.   

The change in schedule at least proved successful for teams and drivers this year. That saw sprint qualifying follow a single practice session on Friday, with the sprint race on Saturday ahead of qualifying for the grand prix.

What is clear is the significant uplift in the TV and social audiences when sprint weekends run, compared to the traditional grand prix weekend that incorporates three practice sessions.

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This year live audience figures for sprint qualifying and the sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix were up 40 per cent across the top 15 markets compared to the average practice sessions for the opening two races.

The live broadcast of the sprint in Miami drew in 946,000 viewers on ESPN, making it the largest US audience for a sprint since the format was introduced in 2021, and in Austria this year, live viewership of sprint qualifying was up 76 per cent versus the FP2 sessions in the last two European races.

This follows a successful 2023 season that saw new sprint locations increasing overall viewership, with Azerbaijan and Belgium among the best-performing weekends, seeing increases of 15 per cent and 22 per cent respectively.

F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali said: "The Sprint has been a great success for Formula 1, bringing all our fans more action and racing on the track. We are seeing the proof of this in our audience data, fan attendance on Fridays and from the promoters and partners.

"As we prepare to celebrate our 75th anniversary in 2025, we will always honour our incredible history, but we must always be looking ahead, innovating, and improving to deliver the best for our growing and diverse fanbase.

"The sprint is a great example of bringing new elements to our sport in a way that is respectful of the championship, and I want to thank the six venues that will host the sprint in 2025 and look forward to those incredible events throughout the season.”

With the sprint in its fifth year next season, FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said: "Over that time, and through our strong collaboration with Formula 1 and with the input of all the teams, it has been through several different iterations, and the regulations and format have evolved to give us the exciting and popular sprints we have today.

"The six events for 2025 again take in an interesting range of circuits and are sure to provide fans with plenty of additional action across the season.”