How Sprint points scoring system will work for Austrian GP

The F1 Sprint is back this weekend for the first time since Imola, with a 100km race to be held on the Saturday of the Austrian Grand Prix.

Max Verstappen was the winner at the last Sprint event after catching and passing Charles Leclerc at Ferrari's home event. He then stormed to victory on Sunday, his team's first of six consecutive wins.

The Austrian GP will play host to the second Sprint of the season before a third and final Sprint will be held in Brazil later in the year.

But how does the Sprint points system works, and who could win big at the Red Bull Ring?

How many points does the winner of an F1 Sprint race get?

In 2022, the winner of a Sprint race will receive eight points, with second scoring seven points and third scoring six, and so on until the driver who places eighth scores a single point.

This is slightly different from last season when only the top three scored nominal points. There is therefore more at stake in 2022, with a maximum 34 points up for grabs, enough to close the gap to nil between Red Bull teammates Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, for example, should the Dutch driver fail to score points while Perez wins both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, whilst scoring the fastest lap.

Alternatively, a dream weekend for Verstappen could see his gap at the top of the standings soar to a massive 68 points with just 11 races to grow.

Here are how the points will be handed out during this weekend's Sprint:

Is there a point for fastest lap during the Sprint?

No, there will be no extra point for fastest lap during the Sprint. The cars will be racing to the finish, without a pit-stop, in search of maximum points.

This rule will still apply to Sunday's Grand Prix, however, with whoever sets the fastest lap on race day set to score a bonus point.

There are, therefore, 34 points up for grabs this weekend.