Formula 1’s 2027 calendar will feature 10 sprint races, with a Monaco sprint race added to the schedule for the first time. The opening weekend in Bahrain and the season finale in Abu Dhabi have also been confirmed as sprint venues. It marks one of the biggest structural shifts to the calendar in recent years, bringing extra qualifying and racing action to a street circuit best known for tight, processional grands prix.
Drivers have already started reacting to the announcement, and the responses range from mild curiosity to outright indifference. For background on how the sport keeps evolving away from the cockpit, our piece on motorsport technology changing performance cars looks at some of the engineering shifts running alongside these calendar changes.
Perez reveals WhatsApp discovery of Monaco sprint decision
Sergio Perez says he didn’t hear about the Monaco sprint decision through any official channel. He found out the same way most of the grid did: through the drivers’ own group chat. “I found out through our [WhatsApp] group, actually. There were some comments there,” Perez said, according to a Motorsport.com report on driver reactions.
He didn’t go into much detail about what was actually said. “It was a bit busy in the group! I didn’t pay much attention, other than what happened in the group. And that stays in the group, as you can imagine,” Perez added. It’s a small but telling detail: even a calendar change this significant reached the drivers informally before it became public knowledge.
Verstappen and Lindblad evaluate Monaco sprint tactical impact
Max Verstappen isn’t a fan of the wider sprint expansion, though he understands why it exists. “Yeah, more sprint races… Personally, I’m not a fan of it, but I understand the reasoning behind it, of course,” he said. He added that the extra sessions do add value for spectators: “It brings more action throughout the weekend, so yeah, we’ll participate… But, for me, I always think about the grand prix and that’s where my main focus is.”
On the Monaco sprint race specifically, Verstappen was blunt about what to expect. “About the sprint in Monaco, yeah, it’s the same scenario as what happens in the main race, right?” he said. “Like, you are excited for the start and then you can’t pass. That’s quite straightforward.” Asked whether the choice of venue surprised him, his response was equally direct: “I don’t know. For me, I honestly don’t care where the sprint races are.” He went further on the emotional side of it: “I just participate and of course you try to do the best you can. But I have no emotion attached to winning a sprint race or not winning it.”
Arvid Lindblad offered a more tactical read, pointing out that sprint weekends change how drivers approach risk. “Maybe you take a bit less risk,” he said, before expanding on the point. “If you’re P15, maybe you don’t try as hard, but the top teams, they’d always have to push. I think it would just mean that you can’t build as nicely as you’d want towards qualifying. You just have to get outside your comfort zone a bit earlier in the weekend.”
F1 2027 schedule timeline and Baku sprint omissions
Baku is not scheduled to host a sprint race in either 2026 or 2027, despite the wider expansion to 10 events. Lindblad, discussing circuits generally suited to the sprint format, pointed to Baku’s characteristics: “This should be a sprint, this would be an amazing sprint race.” He explained his thinking further: “In the end, it’s a track we can pass and the whole point of a sprint race is the idea of a flat-out race and passing. I think this should be one.”
For now, that remains his view rather than F1’s plan. The confirmed 2027 sprint venues stand at 10, opening in Bahrain and closing in Abu Dhabi, with Monaco added in between. For more on how these debates have been building, see our recent motorsport talking points.