The Sprint, tailor-made for Verstappen
He hasn't really needed the relatively meagre number of points on offer in the Sprint Races to help him be the collector of world titles that he has become, but in the short race format, Max Verstappen has found something of an ideal hunting ground. Today, he finished eighth, actually his worst finish from the total of eighteen of these short races held since the idea was introduced in 2021.
However, the Red Bull driver still dominates the statistics relating to this particular concept that has sparked much discussion since it first appeared on the scene, but that now looks like gaining a firm foothold in today's Formula 1.
Of those 18, Verstappen has won 11, started from pole nine times, set eight fastest race laps and finished on the podium 15 times, which is more than twice the number of Perez, Leclerc and Norris, joint second on this list with six podiums apiece. He has led for 200 laps, far more than all other race leaders put together, and most importantly, he has picked up 111 points, equivalent to four wins, a fifth place and a fastest lap in the traditional format, in addition to the already stratospheric figures he has reached in the regular Grand Prix races themselves.
Apart from the Dutchman, only Valtteri Bottas and Oscar Piastri have won more than one Sprint, the Finn victorious in Monza and Interlagos in 2021 and the Australian today repeating his win in last year's Lusail sprint. Three other drivers have also celebrated on Saturday: George Russell (Interlagos 2022), Sergio Perez (Baku 2023) and Lando Norris (Interlagos 2024).
Strangely, neither Ferrari driver has ever won a Sprint, but Carlos Sainz and Charles Leclerc, team-mates at Maranello since 2021, are second and third on the list of most points scored, the Spaniard having 69 and the Monegasque 71. A total of eighteen drivers have scored championship points in this format, eleven of whom have finished at least once in the top three.
The circuit that has hosted the most Sprints is Interlagos, on the calendar since 2021 and confirmed already for 2025. There have been three races at Spielberg, (Austria), two in Austin, Lusail and Shanghai, one at Monza, Silverstone, Imola, Baku and Miami. There are no new venues on the 2025 calendar: the six are the previously mentioned, Sao Paulo, Brazil, as well as two in the USA in Miami and Austin, China, Belgium and Qatar.
