Will a Monaco sprint race work? Our reaction to shock 2027 F1 calendar
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Why is F1 increasing the number of sprint weekends to ten in 2027?
The athletic.
The race is on! And F1 is upping the sprints to 10 in 2027, with a season starting and finishing with a two-race weekend format, and Monaco of all places getting that treatment for the first time. But is this just another step towards sprints becoming ubiquitous? And will that change F1 for better or worse? I'm Ed Straw, and joining me to ask if this is a good or bad thing are Josh Satil and Nelson Valkenberg. Welcome to the Race F on podcast presented by Atlassian. The big news is that the Formula One calendar for 27 has finally been revealed. The season starts in Bahrain on March the 14th, finishes in Abu Dhabi on December the 12th, although there is the chance of a reshuffle if the geopolitical situation doesn't allow it, which could mean you'd have China and Japan starting the year.
Portugal's back, a June date between Monaco and Silverstone, Turkey returns. Middle of a triple header with Azerbaijan and Singapore, and there's triple headers in Australia, Japan and China, and Austin, Mexico and Brazil. But we've got sprints, ten of them: Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Canada, Monaco, Britain, Italy, Brazil, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. And yes, Monaco, a sprint weekend. We'll get into that decision in a moment, but first, Nelson. Is this just another step in the inevitable move towards sprints being universal, Moto GP style?
I think so. I think we're heading in that direction. I know originally they tried to get twelve on the c on the uh calendar for this year, ultimately it has become ten. Um I believe uh we're heading in this direction, for sure.
And Josh, are you a sprint skeptic or are you embracing the uh the
I think I've been defeated by it. In my view, this is too few. I think they should have just gone for it. At this point, I'm like, it it's inevitable. Let's just get on with it. 'Cause I think like Nelson said, this is the directions F1 F one is going in. So why not just get on with it and uh d do the full thing? Because the argument was always, Oh yeah, well you you could have sprint sprint races in most places. But you couldn't have one in Monaco, so you can't have them uh can't have them everywhere. But now we've got one in Monaco, so Yes, you probably can have them everywhere.
Well as a commentator I'm absolutely delighted though that there's one in Monaco because qualifying in Monaco is the best bit of the year, so now I get to do it twice. So I I'm up for that.
Excellent. Well but as a T V commentator of course you're obliged to to uh talk it up. So we'll have to get you in on that uh on that debate a little bit.
Yeah, my pass is given by FOM, your pass is given by the FAA. That's exactly the difference.
Well, we're all free thinking uh individuals here, so uh don't think we're too swayed by that. One thing before we get into some of the specifics, I just wanted to read out from the press release 'cause it grabbed me actually. The idea of the sprints is more is more, right? So instead of two practice sessions, you've got a sprint and you've got a qualifying session. Great. Now The press release says since the sprint was introduced in twenty twenty one, the data shows that the total viewership of sprint weekends is twelve percent higher than non-sprint weekends. Twelve percent doesn't actually feel that successful to me. What do you make of that? Nelson, okay, we know people will watch practice, but But you just thought for having a sprint quality and a sprint race uh to uh doubling the competitive sessions, you'd want to get a bit more than twelve percent viewership out
of
it, wouldn't you?
Really see what is the definition of success on uh when I get to my rant, because I've got one planned for later in this show. Um the definition of success for FOM and F1 seems a bit different than for instance for us as television people or or for um v hardcore motorsport fans. So I think it is uh the case that they are looking at more than just viewing figures. Gears, but they're also looking at um engagements in in on social media and those are already quite high. So I don't think there's a lot more room to get from that, uh and and much more to give.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why is F1 increasing the number of sprint weekends to ten in 2027?
0:02–7:15
2
Are we heading toward universal sprint weekends like Moto‑GP?
7:15–14:44
3
Will a sprint race at Monaco work or dilute the iconic weekend?
14:44–20:34
4
What does the 12 % viewership boost for sprint weekends really mean?
20:34–28:34
5
How are the new sprint formats affecting F1’s financial model and fan reach?
28:34–36:09
6
What are the consequences of cutting practice sessions for teams and drivers?
36:09–43:35
7
Could sprint weekends change the championship climax and title battles?
43:35–50:29
8
What might the future F1 calendar look like if sprints become the norm?
50:29–57:28
Speakers
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