More World Cup points will be distributed in the total of three sprint races in the new Formula 1 season than was the case in 2021.
The FIA Motorsport Federation announced this on Monday after a meeting of the so-called F1 Commission. World champion Max Verstappen and the other drivers will also have to deal with a few rule changes.
Sprint
The sprint races were introduced in Formula 1 last season. These are races that take place on a limited number of Saturdays in the season, over a third of the race distance that is run on Sunday. In 2021 there were three World Cup points for the winner of such a sprint race, two World Cup points for the number two and one point for the number three. That is now changing.
Top eight
From now on, the entire top eight will collect points for the world championship in a sprint race. The winner takes eight points, followed by a gradual decrease to number eight, who takes one point. That result also determines the starting order for Sunday’s race. Furthermore, the official name for the sprint race in the English documents changes from Sprint Qualifying nasty Sprint† The scoring for the Sunday races will not change.
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Emilia Romagna, Austria and Brazil
Just like in 2021, three sprint races will be held in 2022. The FIA has designated the GPs of Emilia Romagna, Austria and Brazil, respectively, the fourth, eleventh and penultimate race weekend of the 23 GP season. Verstappen won the Sunday races in Emilia Romagna and – twice – Austria last season, and was second in Brazil behind rival Lewis Hamilton.
With key updates for the 2022 edition #F1 pic.twitter.com/n0CPjTmuFn
— Formula 1 (@F1) February 14, 2022
Limited
Initially, the FIA and Formula 1 seemed to plan to put more sprint races on the calendar in 2022, especially because they were positively received in 2021. But because the F1 teams will already have to deal with many major regulation changes in the new season, it has been decided to limit the number of sprint races again.
After Spa
The regulations also change in the field of shortened GPs, following the Belgian Grand Prix that was canceled due to heavy rain last summer. At the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, Verstappen was declared the race winner, despite only doing a few laps in first position behind the safety car without actually racing a meter.
Two laps without a safety car
In accordance with the regulations, Verstappen received half of the regular points for this: 12.5 points. From now on, the drivers will only receive points if at least two complete laps have been driven without a (virtual) safety car situation.
Custom Points
If less than 25 percent of the race distance has been covered at the time of flagging, the first five drivers will receive World Cup points: the winner six, the number five one. When between 25 and 50 percent of the race distance is completed, the numbers one to nine World Cup points: thirteen for the winner, one for the number nine. Completing 50 to 75 percent of the race distance will result in points for the entire top ten, from 19 points for the winner to one point for the number ten.
The regulation changes still need to be ratified by the World Motor Sport Council, but that is usually just a formality.
Abu Dhabi
During the consultation, the state of affairs at the closing race of last season in Abu Dhabi was also discussed. Verstappen became world champion there by passing Hamilton on the last lap, but the conduct of the race management caused a lot of controversy. FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem will come out later this week with news of structural changes and an action plan. The teams and drivers are eagerly awaiting that news.