{
  "id": 254356,
  "title": "Formula One CEO says to expect more sprint races in 2027",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/07/formula-one-ceo-says-to-expect-more-sprint-races-in-2027",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-07T06:54:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Japan Times",
    "slug": "japan-times",
    "url": "https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2026/08/07/more-sports/f1-more-sprint-races-2027/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Stefano Domenicali, Formula One's CEO, anticipates the introduction of additional sprint races in 2027 while preserving their exclusivity value. The 2027 race calendar is still being drafted, with Middle Eastern events potentially affected by the ongoing Iran conflict. However, Domenicali confirmed that the season will consist of 24 rounds, matching the 2026 schedule.\n\nSprint races, featuring shorter distances and eight points for the winner, currently unfold on Saturdays, preceding race weekends. Domenicali aims to expand this format, emphasizing its impact on Friday and daily race attendance. Flavio Briatore, owner of Renault’s Alpine team, advocates for sprint races at every race weekend, arguing that they inject excitement and give spectators more to follow.\n\nDespite a 38% revenue drop to $764 million for the first quarter of 2026, attributed to fewer races, Domenicali highlighted a 13% increase in viewership and total hours watched since partnering with Apple for U.S. broadcasts.",
  "summary": "Formula One CEO Stefano Domenicali has announced that the sport can expect more sprint races in 2027. The current format features reduced distance sprint races on Saturday mornings, with eight points awarded to the winner, and qualifying replacing the usual second Friday practice.\n\nAccording to Domenicali, the sprint format has driven higher attendances on Fridays and stronger daily attendances throughout the race weekend. He stated that the company plans to expand the number of sprints, but wants to do so in a way that maintains their scarcity value.\n\nThe 2027 calendar has not yet been published, but Domenicali mentioned it will likely feature 24 rounds, similar to this year. The Free Malaysia Today reported that some have suggested having a sprint at every race weekend, however, Domenicali emphasized that commercially, this would not be valuable.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}