Bahrain has voiced its support for potentially holding a 2022 Formula 1 Sprint race on the short Outer circuit.

The Middle Eastern venue will host the season opener for the second straight year on March 20 and is also expected to be one of six weekends that use the Sprint format that was trialled in 2021.

Though still to be confirmed, it is believed the Sprint races will continue to be 100km but see more points awarded potentially down to P10 and also be standalone, meaning the grid for the Grand Prix will be decided in qualifying on Friday.

One way Bahrain could spice up the weekend even further is to use two different layouts, racing the Sprint on the 3.5km Outer track before reverting to the traditional 5.4km Grand Prix circuit on Sunday.

“In theory, we can do it and we will support whatever F1 wants us to do,” Salman Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, executive director at the Bahrain International Circuit, said.

“It’s like in 2020 when they asked us to organise two races – we had the Outer track and we did it.

“So yes, we would support it. But with these things, and with the teams, there will always be questions about how to race on one track and then another. So I will wait and see how they discuss it first.”

The first F1 race on the 11-turn, high-speed Outer layout is best-known for Sergio Perez claiming his first win for Racing Point.

This was after a strategy error denied George Russell victory on his Mercedes debut, standing in for Lewis Hamilton who missed the race with Covid-19.