Formula 1 will only have three Sprint weekends at most in 2022 due to an ongoing dispute over the budget cap.
After trialling the new format at a trio of Grands Prix last year, F1 chiefs had hoped to double that number to six this season, including the opening race in Bahrain next month.
However, that has been scuppered by an argument between the traditional big-spending teams and the rest over how much leeway would be granted in the budget cap.
Last year, teams were given $150k above the limit per Sprint weekend plus an additional $100k at a race where a car was damaged in a crash.
For 2022, F1 bosses had been offering essentially $650k in leeway with a flat $500k for five Sprints plus $150k for the sixth.
However, Mercedes, Red Bull and Ferrari are understood to have pushed for as much as $5m in an attempt to put the budget cap back up to the $145m figure it was last year.
Unsurprisingly, this infuriated the other teams, in particular McLaren, with CEO Zak Brown claiming they were “looking for excuses” in an attempt to continue winning championships “by chequebook”.
This argument put all Sprint races in doubt for this season, but now a compromise has been put forward by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali.
“A few days ago, teams were informed that there would be a maximum of three mini-races on the 2022 calendar – maybe even fewer. It is not yet clear which Grand Prix weekends the sprints will be part of,” Germany’s Auto Motor und Sport reported on Thursday.
“Three sprints have already been approved once in the regulations.”
F1’s desire for more Sprints largely appears to be commercially driven with claims they also created more social media interactions with fans.
However, the reaction to the 100km Saturday races last year was mixed at best, and many won’t be disappointed at the prospect of fewer of them this season.
Indeed, Fernando Alonso recently argued it should be up to fans whether they exist at all.
“I think this format is made for the fans, to improve the spectacle and to attract different and new fans to the sport,” the Alpine driver told Motorsport Spain.
“So I think we should ask them and see what they think. What did they think of the weekend, what went well, what didn’t go well?
“And if we have to change something, they have to decide because I think for the teams, it wasn’t better, it wasn’t worse. It was just different.
“We prepared the weekend in a different way, but in the end, it’s the same for everyone.
“So I think we have to put the fans first. And they have to tell us what they didn’t like and try to improve it.”
