Sprint qualifying
Sprint qualifying decides the starting grid for the sprint. It works like normal qualifying, a three-part knockout, but each part is shorter and the tyres are set by the rules. It runs on Friday afternoon, a few hours after the weekend's only practice session.
It has no effect on the Grand Prix grid. That's decided separately, in normal qualifying on Saturday afternoon.
The three parts
| Part | Length | Cars taking part | Knocked out | Tyres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SQ1 | 12 minutes | 22 | Slowest 6 | One new set of mediums |
| SQ2 | 10 minutes | 16 | Slowest 6 | One new set of mediums |
| SQ3 | 8 minutes | 10 | None | One set of softs |
There's a 7-minute break between each part, and times are wiped at the start of each new part, just as in Grand Prix qualifying. The fastest driver in SQ3 starts the sprint from pole.
The tyre rules
This is the main difference from normal qualifying. In Grand Prix qualifying, drivers can choose any dry tyre and use as many sets as they have. In sprint qualifying, each driver can use only one set per part:
- In SQ1 and SQ2 it must be a new set of the medium compound.
- In SQ3 it must be a set of the soft compound.
With only one set and a short session, most drivers get just one or two attempts at a fast lap in each part. There's little room to recover from a mistake, traffic or a yellow flag.
These rules are about dry tyres. If it rains, drivers switch to intermediate or wet tyres as they would in any other session.
Other rules
The 107% rule applies, measured against the fastest lap in SQ1. Drivers who miss the cut, or don't set a time, need permission from the stewards to start the sprint. If they're allowed to race, they start at the back in the order they finished in practice.
Parc fermé begins when each car first leaves the pit lane in sprint qualifying and lasts until the start of the sprint. A team that changes its car in that time has to start from the pit lane in the sprint.
If sprint qualifying can't take place at all, for example because of bad weather, the sprint grid is set by the order of the Drivers' Championship.
Where the name came from
In 2021 "sprint qualifying" was the name for the Saturday race itself, because it set the grid for Sunday. The race was renamed the sprint in 2022. In 2023 a Saturday morning session called the sprint shootout was added to set the sprint grid, and in 2024 it moved to Friday and took the name sprint qualifying.