Monaco (yes, Monaco) will host an F1 Sprint race in 2027

We’ll repeat that, because those words in that order don’t appear to make a lot of sense: Monaco – the F1 circuit famous for its lack of overtaking – will host an F1 Sprint race – a format predicated on an abundance of overtaking – in 2027. Right…

The only logical explanation is that Formula One bosses have spent the summer schlepping back industrial amounts of Kool-Aid. Or that TV bosses have commissioned a spin-off version of Rio’s World Cup Wind-Ups, and any minute Rio Ferdinand is going to leap out and shout “You got merked!” at a very confused Kimi Antonelli. If you’ve got a better theory, please post it in the comments section below.

The move is part of an expansion of the Sprint race format within the 2027 F1 calendar: a grand total of 10 events will host Sprints next season, when for the past couple of years the limit has been six.

Sprint race weekends – which involve competitive action over three days of a grand prix weekend instead of only two – will take place over the season opener in Bahrain, Australia, Japan, Canada, Britain, Italy, Brazil, Qatar and the curtain closer in Abu Dhabi, as well as the tight streets of Monte Carlo…

The thinking with that last one is that Monaco usually hosts the single most intense qualifying session of the year, so being able to broadcast two qualifying sessions will mean more excitement for fans.

Anyway… in other news, two tracks you can actually overtake at – Portugal and Turkey – return to the calendar. So that’s something.

Once again 24 grands prix are scheduled, but contingency planning is underway in case the problems in the Middle East continue.