The sprint races are missing from the 2023 calendar
While the 2023 calendar was announced on Tuesday, sprint races are not on the agenda. Was this an oversight by the FIA? It seems that it is not the case, as the FIA considers sprint races important for revenue generation.
Not everyone enjoys sprint races. From the perspective of the drivers, it is clear that they are not thrilled about them. But the FIA does not want to give up on them because the profits generated from the sprints are significant.
However, despite the announcement of the 2023 calendar, no sprint race was perceived alongside the program.
Sprint races were introduced in 2021 and were supposed to double in number in 2022, going from 3 events to 6. However, this was not the case, much to the disappointment of F1 bosses.
But one cannot say that sprint races are popular, far from it. They do not provide the expected thrills to the general public and one would almost forget that they exist. However, they do earn important points for the rankings and generate excitement as early as Friday afternoon with the qualifying rounds.
The latest one was in July and the next and final race will take place in Brazil on the weekend of November 11th. The third sprint race had taken place in Imola on the weekend of April 23rd.
It seems that a clash between F1 and the FIA is at the origin of the omission of sprint races. But negotiations are taking place between the two parties, and the official announcement of sprint races for the 2023 season could happen very soon.
