Toto Wolff confirms ‘ongoing discussions’ about bringing massive changes to Sprint Format in 2024

The Sprint format has proved to be a bit hit and miss since its inception.

Toto Wolff confirms ‘ongoing discussions’ about bringing massive changes to Sprint Format in 2024

Lewis Hamilton and Toto Wolff (Via IMAGO)

The Sprint format has always been discussed in the F1 paddock. From Max Verstappen openly blasting the format to several esteemed personalities deeming it good for the sport, people have contrasting opinions. The ongoing Brazilian weekend is also being run in a Sprint format, and the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, has come up with an update on it.

The ongoing 2023 F1 season had six sprint weekends it, with the last one currently progressing at the iconic Autodromo Carlos Jose Peca circuit. While it is the last sprint weekend of this year, Toto Wolff has confirmed that the format is in for some massive changes from 2024 onward.

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Yes It is true. There are ongoing discussions about it, but the final decision is up to Stefano [Domenicali]. I'm not enthusiastic about these weekends in general, but if it's good for the fans then we'll do it.
Wolff said, as reported by Formula Passion.

Here, the Austrian is talking about the fact that currently, there are ongoing discussions between the various team managers about staging the Sprint Shootout on a Friday. As per the current scenario, the shootouts are conducted on a Saturday a few hours before the short Sprint race.

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Max Verstappen has never been a huge fan of the Sprint format

While Toto Wolff has confirmed that the Sprint format could see some huge changes next year, the reigning world champion, Max Verstappen, is really not a big fan of the whole thing. He genuinely believes that the F1 product is good enough and that there is no need to stage Sprint races.

Max Verstappen (Credits: Imago)
Max Verstappen (Credits: Imago)

During the ongoing Brazilian weekend, he came up with another scathing attack and said, “It almost sounds out of craziness that we need to come up with something. Just leave it the same. In football, you don’t change the rules, or in other sports. It’s been like that for 100 years.”

The Sprint format is something that has been introduced by the higher-ups with the motive of making the sport more interesting. However, considering the indifferent welcome it has received since its inception, one has to wonder whether it is good for the pinnacle of motor racing.

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