MADRID, 5 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Formula 1 has announced the six venues that will present the Sprint format during the 2024 season, in which the Chinese and Miami Grands Prix will debut, while Austria and Sao Paulo repeat, for the third time; and Austin and Qatar, for the second year, according to a statement.
The 'Gran Circo' continues to support the Sprint format, since its entry in 2021, in its mission to “encourage overtaking” on the different chosen circuits, thus offering “close and entertaining races.” And the decision to maintain this variant, according to F-1, responds to its “positive impact” on television monitoring, compared to the traditional free practice sessions on Fridays.
According to a Nielsen study in 21 markets, in the 2023 Azerbaijan GP the audience for the broadcasts of the qualifying session was 83% higher compared to that of the second training session in 2022, while in the United States GP It was 139% and in Belgium it was 34%.
Thus, in 2024 the following Grand Prix will have the Sprint format: China (April 19-21), Miami (May 3-5), Austria (June 28-30), United States (October 18-20) , Sao Paulo (November 1-3) and Qatar (November 29-December 1). Therefore, Sprint Azerbaijan and Belgium are dropped from this calendar.
From F-1 they were “delighted” with the choice of these six GPs for the Sprint, “including two new hosts in China and Miami.” “Both will provide great racing for all our fans on the track and at home. The Sprint offers more on-track entertainment and greater fan engagement on social and digital media,” said competition president Stefano Domenicali.
For his part, the president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, is “looking forward” to the new World Championship starting with the “exciting action in the Sprints.” “Shanghai will be a challenge for the teams and drivers as F-1 returns to China for the first time since 2019, while a Sprint in Miami will add a new dimension to an exciting weekend,” he added.
At the end of November, the Formula 1 Commission agreed to renew the Sprint format of the World Cup GPs for the 2024 season. The organization did not give more details about this update of the Sprint format and stressed that it will be the Sports Advisory Committee that will work “on specific details” and that it must “present a final proposal to the F-1 Commission for the first meeting in 2024.”