What is the format for F1 sprint races in 2026?

Mercedes' George Russell has won three sprint races this season in China, Canada and Zandvoort
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The six and final sprint race of the 2026 season takes place at the Singapore Grand Prix, from 9-11 October.
The format is largely the same as last year except now the six slowest cars - instead of five - will be eliminated from the first two qualifying sessions.
Sprint qualifying takes place on Friday, after the only practice session of the weekend.
The 100km sprint, which lasts about 30 minutes, is the first track action on Saturday.
At Marina Bay, the sprint is 21 laps long and starts at 10:00 BST.
Qualifying for the main race is in its usual spot as the second session on Saturday.
The grand prix then takes place as normal on Sunday and begins at 13:00.
How does the F1 sprint race work?
Sprint qualifying has three sessions, where now the six slowest cars are knocked out from the first two - like normal qualifying.
These sessions, known as SQ1, SQ2 and SQ3, last 12, 10 and eight minutes respectively.
This will make up the grid for the sprint race.
Only the top eight finishers score points, with eight points awarded for first place down to one point for eighth, which will get added to the overall drivers' championship standings.
At the fifth event at the Dutch Grand Prix in August, George Russell secured victory from pole position ahead of Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and world champion Lando Norris.
Title leader Kimi Antonelli finished fourth in Zandvoort to lead Lewis Hamilton in the drivers' championship by 53 points.