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Formula 1 has increased the number of sprint races from six to 10 for the 2027 World Championship.<\/b><\/p>\n
Sprint events, which feature a shorter race on Saturday and an extra qualifying session on Friday, will be held for the first time in Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Monaco, and Abu Dhabi.<\/p>\n
The other sprints will be in Canada, Britain, Italy, Brazil, and Qatar, it was revealed as the calendar was formally announced.<\/p>\n
The maximum number of sprints previously in a season has been six.<\/p>\n
The 2027 season is scheduled to start in Bahrain on 12-14 March, followed by Saudi Arabia a week later, but both events will remain in doubt while the war in the Middle East continues.<\/p>\n
Bahrain is the default season-opening race, but Australia has hosted the first grand prix for the past two years because of the timing of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.<\/p>\n
The 2026 season is due to end with two races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi, and while F1 is planning to complete the calendar as scheduled, it is working on contingency plans if those races cannot be held as a result of the continuing conflict between the US\/Israel and Iran.<\/p>\n
The same applies for the start of next season as F1 considers its options for an alternative opening schedule if racing in the Middle East looks impossible by the end of this year.<\/p>\n
On Sunday, a summit involving some of the nations involved in or affected by the conflict released a statement urging “maximum restraint”<\/a> in the war. <\/p>\n The British Grand Prix will be on 2-4 July, and the 2027 season re-introduces races in Portugal and Turkey, returning for the first time since being used as placeholder events during the pandemic.<\/p>\n Sprint events usually come at a higher price for race organisers but they are in demand because they increase the chance of selling more tickets, with competitive action on each of the three days of the meeting rather than only Saturday and Sunday.<\/p>\n