What is the format for F1 sprint races in 2026?

The third of six sprint races in 2026 takes place at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, from 22-24 May.

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 because of Cadillac's arrival on the grid.

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.

This weekend's sprint at Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is 23 laps and starts at 17:00 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 starts at 21:00.

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 to one point for eighth, which will get added to the overall drivers' championship standings.

At the second sprint in Miami three weeks ago, world champion Lando Norris took pole position and eased to victory ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc.

Championship leader Kimi Antonelli was demoted from fourth to sixth after being handed a five-second time penalty for exceeding track limits too many times.

Canada is a new addition to the sprint race format for 2026.

Following Montreal, the final three sprint events take place at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort and the Singapore Grand Prix at Marina Bay.

1. China - report

2. Miami - report

3. Canada - 23 May

4. Silverstone - 4 July

5. Zandvoort - 22 August

6. Singapore - 10 October