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F1 Expands Sprint Schedule to 10 Races for 2027 Calendar Including Monaco
Formula 1 will run 10 sprint events in 2027 as Monaco joins an expanded 24-race schedule that also brings back Portugal and Turkey.
By Michael de Vries - 2026-09-16T10:38:42.000Z - 3 min read
Formula 1 has unveiled a 24-round calendar for the 2027 world championship, pushing the sprint format to a record 10 weekends and breaking precedent by staging a Saturday short race around the narrow streets of Monaco. The expansion raises the allocation of sprint rounds well beyond the previous ceiling of six, anchoring nearly half the championship rounds with competitive sessions on every day of the track schedule.
Five venues will host sprint weekends for the first time in 2027: Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Monaco, and Abu Dhabi. They will join Canada, Britain, Italy, Brazil, and Qatar on the revised roster, each offering an independent Friday sprint qualifying session and a standalone shorter race on Saturday before Sunday's full-distance grand prix.
Taking the format into Monte Carlo represents the calendar's most contentious sporting experiment. Overtaking along the harbourfront remains practically impossible in modern machinery, meaning sprint results are liable to freeze after the initial charge into Sainte Devote unless contact or mechanical failure intervenes. Formula 1 is pitching the weekend on the appeal of double qualifying sessions, betting that two high-stakes shootouts across the principality's unforgiving barriers will deliver the variability that the sprint itself often denies.
Commercial appetite from circuit owners has driven the push toward double-digit sprints. Promoters pay premium sanctioning fees for the right to stage the format because trackside ticket sales surge when timed running begins on Friday. Series officials leaned on Silverstone as proof of the economic return, where promoter figures linked this season's sprint meeting to a record British Grand Prix crowd of 64,000 more attendees across four days than the previous non-sprint gathering.
Beyond the sprint overhaul, the 2027 schedule reintroduces permanent dates for Portugal and Turkey, restoring both venues to the world championship for the first time since they operated as emergency stand-ins during the pandemic. Portimao has been slotted into mid-June between Monaco and Silverstone, while Istanbul Park takes an early October date ahead of the closing overseas flyaways.
The championship is slated to open at the Bahrain International Circuit on 12-14 March, immediately followed by Saudi Arabia, after pre-season testing concludes in Sakhir from 24 to 27 February. Both opening fixtures remain subject to doubt because of the military conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran. While Bahrain serves as the championship's baseline opener, Australia took over that slot for the past two seasons to avoid the timing of Ramadan, and Formula 1 is formulating alternative early-season schedules if racing in the Gulf proves impossible.
Similar contingency planning already shadows the final stages of the 2026 season, with series bosses assessing options should tensions prevent racing in Qatar and Abu Dhabi. Despite the diplomatic volatility, Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali welcomed the calendar's additions, stating the 10-race sprint programme would deliver greater intensity, drama, and wheel-to-wheel action. FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem echoed that stance, describing the 24-race itinerary across five continents as an effective blend of tradition, innovation, and global growth.