🏎️ When everything moves faster

This is how Franco and Alpine's work changes during a sprint weekend

Published

19 May 2026

Est. reading time

3 min

🥳 This week we're back with a race, and not just any race weekend…

It's Canada, and it's a Sprint Weekend.

🩵 Before we start talking about what will happen this weekend…

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In a normal Formula 1 weekend, teams have three free practice sessions to learn the track, set up the car and build their strategy. There's room to test, make mistakes and adjust.

In a sprint weekend, that margin almost completely disappears.

That's why we want to explain how a sprint weekend completely changes the usual rhythm, and what that means:

- Less time to test the car. - More pressure from the very first session. - Less room for mistakes. - Faster strategic decisions.

⚡ What is a Sprint Weekend?

The Sprint format is part of select Grands Prix on the calendar, and it changes the whole structure of the weekend. Instead of three free practice sessions, there's only one. Instead of two days to set up the car before qualifying, everything is decided much faster.

Here's how the sessions are ordered in a sprint weekend:

Friday:

- Free Practice 1 (the only one of the weekend). - Sprint Qualifying (sets the grid for Saturday's Sprint).

Saturday:

- Sprint Race (a short race of approx. 100 km, with points on offer). - Qualifying (sets the grid for Sunday's race).

Sunday:

- Main Race.

The Sprint doesn't determine Sunday's grid, but it does award points: the winner takes 8, second place takes 7, and so on down to eighth place, which earns 1. These are real championship points.

What changes for Franco and Alpine

With only one hour of free practice available, the team arrives at the weekend with far less data than usual. That means all the preparation done before reaching the track is worth twice as much.

Before arriving at the circuit:

- Franco has spent hours in the team's simulator at Enstone, recreating the circuit, testing setups and understanding the key sections of the lap. - The engineers analyse data from previous seasons at this circuit to predict how the car will behave. - A base tyre strategy is defined before hitting the track, because there won't be much time to experiment.

During free practice:

- Every lap has a clear objective, there's no room to "waste" laps without collecting data. - Long runs are prioritised to understand tyre degradation ahead of the Sprint. - Communication between Franco and his engineers is more intense and faster than in a normal weekend.

Between sessions:

- Debrief meetings are shorter but more intense. - Engineers work through the night analysing data from the single practice session to set up the car before Sprint Qualifying. - Franco focuses on processing information quickly and adapting his driving style.

For a young driver like Franco, this kind of weekend is also a major test of adaptability and fast track reading.

👀 What you don't see from the outside

The meetings will be shorter and more intense, with less time to rest. There will likely be overnight work analysing data, and the simulator sessions and preparation done beforehand will have been crucial.

The FranClub is part of it too

While Franco and Alpine work against the clock, the FranClub lives every session to the fullest from the app. We'll be streaming live from Friday’s FP1 and qualifying, Saturday's Sprint and final qualifying, and Sunday's main race.

Three days, three chances. Don't miss a single one on the app.

Download the App!

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