New additions to 2026 F1 Sprint calendar

Zandvoort will stage a Sprint race for the first time before it disappears from the Formula 1 calendar in 2026.

In 2026 Sprints will be held at China, Miami, Canada, Silverstone, Zandvoort and Singapore.

Zandvoort, Canada and Singapore will be staging the Saturday race for the first time, while China and Miami retain spots from this year and Silverstone hosted the first one in 2021.

“The F1 Sprint has continued to grow in positive impact and popularity since it was introduced in 2021,” said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.

“With four competitive sessions rather than two during a conventional Grand Prix weekend, F1 Sprint events offer more action each day for our fans, broadcast partners, and for the promoters – driving increased attendance and viewership.

“The 2026 season will usher in a new era of regulations, so having three new Sprint venues will only add to the drama on track.

“I want to thank the FIA, all the promoters, our partners, marshals, volunteers, and local sporting clubs for continuing to make the Sprint a big success and we all look forward to giving our fans more incredible racing and excitement in the 2026 season.”

While the 2026 Sprint calendar is set, discussions about additional Sprints in 2027 are circulating, including the introduction of reverse grid races.

“There’s a topic on the table regarding the future of the format that will be used in the coming years, starting with the sprint weekends,” said F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali. 

“We need to figure out whether to increase these weekends, how to increase them, and whether to use different formats than the current ones. “We’re having some discussions with the teams to figure out what direction to take for the future.”

Dismissing the criticism from the more established Formula 1 community, the Italian said that, “aside from a few older fans, the public is increasingly demanding sprint weekends. 

“The promoters are pushing for this format, and now there’s interest from the drivers too.”

F1 has stated in 2024 TV viewership for Sprint weekends was on average 10 percent greater than non-Sprint weekends.

However, Domenicali’s proposals to radically change the format of the Grand Prix were not welcomed by most top drivers when they were confronted with the Italian’s words in Monza. 

Although some of the best drivers admitted they have slowly warmed up to the concept of the sprint races, all of them stated that six per season are more than enough and not one driver in the paddock showed any enthusiasm for the Formula 1 CEO’s idea of shortening the races or getting reverse grid into the sport.

Although the Italian mentioned that even Max Verstappen was no longer opposed to the sprints, the Dutchman left no doubt about his feelings. 

The World Champion stated, “You all know how I think about sprint races, but the length of the races, I think it’s fine. It’s like other sports, sometimes you have an exciting game, sometimes absolutely boring, and you fall asleep. 

“That’s sport for you, you know, you cannot always make it exciting, because if it’s always exciting, it becomes boring too. Sometimes it can be surprisingly exciting, sometimes it can be surprisingly boring. 

“From my side, I’m probably more of a traditional guy. I think it’s more important that all the teams are closer, because then you get more racing anyway.

“But in general, if you look at the season, if you take McLaren out of it, it is not too bad. It’s just that the following with these cars again is becoming a bit of a problem. So, that’s why sometimes you are stuck again in a DRS train or whatever.”

Photo by Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images

2026 F1 Sprint calendar