Formula One plans more sprint races in 2027, Domenicali says

Formula One will add more sprint races in 2027, Stefano Domenicali said, extending a format that has become one of the sport’s most contested changes since it debuted in 2021. Domenicali said the 2027 season would have more sprint events than the current six, while keeping enough scarcity to preserve the format’s appeal.

The push has a clear commercial logic. Sprint weekends give broadcasters an extra competitive session to sell and promoters more track action to package across three days, rather than relying on a practice-heavy build-up and one main qualifying session before Sunday’s Grand Prix. Formula One has argued that the format can deliver more unpredictability, more storylines and more television inventory, while critics inside the paddock and among fans say it dilutes the prestige of pole position and can force teams to take on extra risk before the main race.

Formula 1 and the FIA announced the 2026 Sprint calendar on Sept. 16, 2025, and the series said the format would run at six venues that year: Shanghai, Miami, Montreal, Silverstone, Zandvoort and Singapore. The 2026 championship is set to include 24 races, with the sprint schedule remaining a limited part of the season rather than a full rewrite of it. Formula 1 first introduced sprint weekends in 2021, then adjusted the rules repeatedly as it kept testing how much change teams, drivers and viewers would accept.

Domenicali also said the 2027 season would likely have 24 rounds, underscoring how closely the sprint expansion is tied to the broader shape of the championship calendar. Sky Sports reported on July 7, 2026, that nine or 10 sprint weekends were likely in 2027, a sharp jump from the current six. Motorsport.com and other outlets have pointed to similar possibilities, reflecting a growing expectation that Formula One wants more competition packed into each race week, not just more races overall.

The debate now centers on whether that expansion strengthens the sport or recasts it for broadcasters and promoters. Formula One’s own guidance has continued to explain and revise the sprint format, showing that it remains an evolving part of the weekend structure rather than a settled tradition. If the increase goes ahead, it would mark another step in the series’ effort to balance historic race-day prestige with a more commercially aggressive product built for a global audience.