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How Formula 1's new sprint race format will work during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix

A crash in the F1 sprint race — such as AlphaTauri's Pierre Gasly's in 2022 — will no longer affect the competitor's starting position for the grand prix on Sunday. (Reuters: Leonhard Foeger)

Formula 1 returns after a four-week break with a new weekend format it hopes will be popular with fans.

This weekend's Azerbaijan Grand Prix will host the first of six sprint races this season.

The F1 sprints have been around since 2021, and have previously been a short race to establish the grid for the grand prix on Sunday.

However, this season the sprint will be a standalone race, with its own qualification and will have no effect on the main event on Sunday.

F1 announced a new format for this year's six weekends with sprint races, with practice and qualifying for Sunday's race happening on the Friday.

This will follow the usual format, which is ordinarily done over two days.

The Sprint Saturday is much different, with the sprint race — and the qualifying session to set the grid for the sprint race — happening in one, action-packed day.

From this weekend, the sprint race will be contested over 100 kilometres (one-third of the grand prix distance), while the qualifying session will be shorter.

All drivers will be on medium tyres for the first qualifying session, which will last 12 minutes.

The slowest five will be eliminated before the second round, which will, again, be done on medium tyres for 10 minutes.

Then the fastest 10 drivers from that session will compete in a third round on soft tyres, lasting just eight minutes.

Championship points will be on offer for the top-eight drivers, with eight points to the winner down to one point for eighth place.

Austria, Belgium, Qatar, the United States (Austin) and Sao Paulo will be the other race weekends which will host a sprint on the Saturday.

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