F1 sprint races could reportedly receive a $1,000,000 prize purse to make it exciting after growing concerns about current format

According to recent reports, F1 senior officials are in informal talks to revamp the sprint race system in order to make it more engaging for fans, drivers, and teams. Among the ideas discussed is the creation of a separate $1,000,000 prize pool for the format.

The 2023 F1 US GP was recently held in Austin and had a sprint weekend format. However, there was not too much excitement for Saturday sprint sessions, and ticket sales also experienced a dip. This reportedly prompted discussions about what could be changed to improve sprint weekends as a whole.

According to Autosport, there have been several informal talks about the subject between F1 senior officials at the paddock. One of the rumored suggestions was to make sprints a standalone championship where any points scored do not count for the main F1 championships. The other idea was to bring in a major sponsor to increase the prize pool of sprint races to around $1,000,000.

Another suggestion is to reverse either the top 10 sprint shootout finishers or the entire grid for the main sprint race to spice things up.

Of course, these are only rumored informal discussions around the paddock. They should be taken with a grain of salt. However, there is a possibility that these ideas will be pitched and finalized for future sprint races.

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Max Verstappen on how F1 sprints take away the magic of Grands Prix

Reigning world champion Max Verstappen has frequently voiced his opinion about sprint weekends. After the 2023 F1 US GP sprint race, where he won from pole position, he explained why he wouldn't like the format if he were a regular fan of the sport.

The Red Bull driver explained how the shorter race on Saturday takes away the magic of the main race. Speaking in the post-sprint press conference, he said:

"If I were a fan, I would just be disappointed because then you more or less know about the picture. If nothing crazy happens, you know what's going to happen tomorrow, so I find that a bit… it takes away that magic of waking up on a Sunday morning or whatever, Sunday afternoon, and you turn on the TV, and you’ve had qualifying, but you're not sure which car is going to be quickest in most of the years, and yeah, it takes that magic away, I find."

Since sprints are still relatively new in the sport, they will likely drastically change over the next few years.