Formula One announces revised sprint calendar for 2025

Formula 1 and the FIA have today announced the venues that will host F1 Sprint events during the 2025 F1 season with Belgium replacing Austria as sprint location.

Sprint weekends were introduced in 2021 which added a short sprint race to the weekend. While the first year included three sprint weekends, their number increased to six last season. In 2024, there will be six Sprint rounds, with the unique format featuring in Shanghai, Miami, Spielberg, Austin, Sao Paulo and Lusail.

Formula One has now confirmed the sprint schedule for the 2025 F1 season. São Paulo will keep up its run of hosting the Sprint every year since 2021, while Belgium returns for the first time since 2023, replacing Austria.

Shanghai and Miami will host the Sprint for the second consecutive year, and Austin and Qatar return to the calendar for a third time.

The F1 Sprint has consistently proven its popularity since its introduction in 2021. The sport noted that “the format delivers strong numbers across all traditional broadcast, digital and social platforms, as well as providing extra and exciting racing that promoters can offer to the fans and as a result we are seeing large attendances on the Friday of a Sprint weekend.

“So far in 2024, live audience figures for Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint at the Chinese Grand Prix were up 40% across the top 15 markets compared to the average practice sessions for the opening two races.

“The live broadcast of the Sprint in Miami drew in 946,000 viewers on ESPN, making it the largest-ever US audience for a Sprint since the format was introduced in 2021, and in Austria this year, live viewership of Sprint Qualifying was up 76% versus the FP2 sessions in the last two European races.

“This follows a successful 2023 season that saw new Sprint locations increasing overall viewership, with Azerbaijan and Belgium among the best performing weekends, seeing increases of 15% and 22% respectively.”

The confirmed F1 Sprint events in 2025 are:
21 – 23 March China Shanghai
2 – 4 May USA Miami
25 – 27 July Belgium Spa
17 – 19 October USA Austin
7 – 9 November Brazil São Paulo
28 – 30 November Qatar Lusail

Commenting on the 2025 sprint schedule, President and CEO of Formula 1 Stefano Domenicali said: “The Sprint has been a great success for Formula 1, bringing all our fans more action and racing on the track. We are seeing the proof of this in our audience data, fan attendance on Fridays and from the promoters and partners.

“As we prepare to celebrate our 75th anniversary in 2025 we will always honour our incredible history, but we must always be looking ahead, innovating, and improving to deliver the best for our growing and diverse fanbase.

“The Sprint is a great example of bringing new elements to our sport in a way that is respectful of the Championship, and I want to thank the six venues that will host the Sprint in 2025 and look forward to those incredible events throughout the season.”

FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem commented: “As the FIA Formula One World Championship celebrates its 75th anniversary in 2025, the Sprint will also enter its fifth year as part of the competition.

“Over that time, and through our strong collaboration with Formula 1 and with the input of all the teams, it has been through several different iterations and the regulations and format have evolved to give us the exciting and popular Sprints we have today. The six events for 2025 once again take in an interesting range of circuits and are sure to provide fans with plenty of additional action across the season.”