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ALASDAIR REID | FORMULA ONE

Formula One gets quick and dirty with new Sprint Shoot-out format

Many purists argue this weekend’s revised format for upping the eyeball count may not be in keeping with the sport’s most notable traditions

The Times

Is Formula One a marathon or a sprint? Don’t tax yourself trying to work out the answer, because it’s clearly a trick question. These days, it is trying to be both.

A nine-month season encompassing 23 races — that would have been 24 had the Chinese Grand Prix not been cancelled — certainly suggests it’s a bit of a slog, a sport that rewards endurance as much as anything else. Increasingly, though, it wants to provide entertainment of the short, sharp variety, neatly wrapped up in TV-friendly packages.

Hence the introduction of sprint races in 2021. In that first year, the new format was billed as “sprint qualifying”, with short (approximately 100km) races earning championship points for the top-three drivers and setting the grid for