Half of the final six rounds are sprint events. Will that create a closer title fight? · RaceFans

Formula 1’s sprint races tend to be processional affairs which serve only to diminish the intrigue ahead of the main event by giving an early glimpse of how each car performs.

But Formula One Management insists everyone loves them so they’re seemingly here to stay. Moreover, F1 is especially fond of scheduling them at the end of seasons, so half this year’s sprint events take place over the final half-dozen rounds.

This is a new situation for F1 since sprint races were introduced three years ago. That year, when the title fight went down to the final round, there was only one sprint race during the last six rounds and it awarded far fewer points. The 2022 and 2023 drivers’ titles were clinched well before the final round.

Today the drivers’ championship is still open and is tightening up, though is not yet close. However the presence of three sprint races in the decisive final six rounds means the picture is different than what we might have seen in previous years.

Firstly, they complicate the championship arithmetic. Instead of knowing each round pays up to 26 points, three of the remaining events offer an extra eight each. The net effect is almost as if there were seven grands prix remaining instead of six.

Does it therefore follow that the championship situation is closer than it initially appears? Taking the two drivers who are closest to each other at the top of the standings, Lando Norris is 52 points adrift of Max Verstappen, and while six grands prix would ordinarily offer up to 156 points, the addition of three sprint races bumps that up to 174.

Surely that means the three sprint races increase the chances of Norris, who has had the quicker car for the last seven consecutive races, taking the championship fight down to the final round? After all, he only needs to halve Verstappen’s lead in order to have the slimmest outside chance in Abu Dhabi.

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That would mean out-scoring Verstappen by 26 points over five rounds including three sprint races; Norris has taken exactly that many points off him over the last four rounds with no sprint races.

However there is one mathematical reason why the extra sprint races don’t offer Norris as much help as it might at first seem. Yes, there are more points available for winning, but sprint races reward some of the lower finishing positions more…