Formula One will have six so-called ‘sprint’ races for the 2023 season – but have yet to confirm at which race locations those six events will occur in the currently scheduled 24-race calendar.
‘Sprint’ races involve holding a shorter race on Saturday [which would seem to eliminate the newly-included 2023 Las Vegas Grand Prix as a potential candidate] and the result of that shorter race then sets the grid for the grand prix. The starting order for the sprint is set by qualifying, which is moved to Friday afternoon instead of the usual Saturday.
Formula 1 claims to have data from the first two seasons of sprint events in 2021 and 2022 that shows that the sprints boost both television audiences and income.
F1 president Stefano Domenicali issued a statement: “I am pleased that we can confirm six sprints will be part of the Championship from 2023 onwards, building on the success of the new format introduced for the first time in 2021.