Sprint race weekends in Formula 1 have divided opinion amongst drivers, team principals, pundits and fans alike since their creation.
But that has not slowed down their progress with 2023 set to feature more Sprints than ever before. The first of the six to be held across the campaign will take place this weekend at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Introduced in 2021, the Sprint is a 100km race which takes place on the Saturday of a race weekend, with qualifying moved to the Friday instead. It was brought in to provide more competitive action for fans, with F1 chiefs not keen on practice sessions which they feel do no excite the audience.
