The F1 sprint races dedicated to young drivers postponed to 2026
The FIA has informed that discussions regarding the organization of a sprint race specially dedicated for young drivers will be postponed to 2025, with a possible implementation in 2026.
A few weeks ago, the teams and the FIA discussed the implementation of a new way of assessing young drivers with the potential to promote them to Formula 1. These discussions arose notably after seeing drivers who seemed to be underperforming in Formula 2 shine in F1, and even outperform regular drivers.
This is notably the case for Liam Lawson, performing better than Daniel Ricciardo with the same car, or for Franco Colapinto, achieving much better results than the regular driver he replaced: Logan Sargeant.
Currently, the only way to effectively judge a Formula 2 driver is to compare him to others. However, this does not really seem like the best way.
On one hand, significant disparities seem to exist depending on the engine or chassis of the driver during the season, with more or less ease in adjusting it. Some F2 drivers therefore complain about the results they achieve and consider the fairness not so fair.
On the other hand, teams are often engaged with their drivers taken in their training center to have them drive in free practice a few times a year or with a so-called mule version, from several seasons (minimum 2) during a private test.
These two reasons are driving teams to find a more modern solution. Thus, for a few weeks now, a sprint race dedicated solely to young drivers could take place with Formula 1 cars. As a result, regular drivers would be replaced by drivers from the training center or chosen by the team. This could also open up opportunities for female drivers participating in programs such as F3 or F1 Academy.
If the initial discussions suggested implementation by the end of 2024, finally the FIA estimates that it will not be before 2026: « The sprint race initiative for beginners has also been re-examined, » said the FIA. « The committee remains interested in this concept and intends to further explore it in 2025 with the aim of setting up a sprint race for beginners in 2026. »
This announcement was made after the meeting of the FIA F1 commission, on Wednesday, November 13th.
