F1 Sprint weekends receive vital tweak for 2026 season
F1 Sprint race weekends will undergo a minor tweak as of 2026.
During a traditional race weekend, F1 teams and drivers get a three one-hour practice sessions to help them set up the car as best they can for qualifying and the race.
However, during a sprint weekend the number practice allowance reduces to one hour, with Sprint qualifying and the Sprint race taking the FP2 and FP3 slots in the programme.
During a neutralisation to a practice session prompted by a yellow or a red flag, the clock continues ticking, setting back the quest for the most optimal set up.
In a FIA World Motorsport Council meeting that took place in Tashkent, Uzbekhistan, a minor change to the Sprint format's regulations was approved to stop the clock when a practice session is neutralised during a Sprint weekend and will be enforced as of the F1 2026 season.
"An allowance has been made for FP1 at a sprint event to be extended following a red flag, to ensure that competitors are afforded relevant practice time," the FIA said in a summary of the meeting's resolutions.
F1 faces further rule tinkering
In a Sprint qualifying session teams are given a mandatory tyre allocation of one medium tyre for SQ1, another set of medium for SQ2 and two sets of soft tyres for SQ3. The measure adopted since the F1 2024 season will now stand even if rain strikes during the session.
Should a qualifying session be hit with precipiation but it recedes in time for teams and drivers to bolt on dry tyres, then they must use the tyres mandated by the regulations.
As of 2027 pre-season testing will go back to its traditional sole three-day programme. In 2026 the FIA and the F1 teams agreed to extend the testing allocation ahead of the start of the season in Australia in 4-6 March, with a behnid-closed-doors test from 26-30 January in Barcelona, followed by two more three-day testing sessions in Bahrain from 11-13 and 18-20 February.
IndyCar drivers get more super license points
The FIA also revised its super licence points for IndyCar from 2026 during the WMSC meeting, increasing the top-10 allocation to 40-30-25-20-15-10-8-6-3-1 from 40-30-20-10-8-6-4-3-2-1. Read more on the measure's impact here.
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