Straddling tradition and innovation, the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix is also getting a makeover. The 2027 world championship calendar introduces a major new feature: the Saturday morning sprint race. The official announcement was released by Liberty Media, which confirmed the rumors that had been circulating in the previous days. “The public doesn’t want to see a Friday without action, where the teams practice but without that thrill that fans crave,” says Stefano Domenicali in a phone interview. “With the sprint races, we have a full weekend, consisting of qualifying on Friday—which yields an important result and a definitive standings—a race on Saturday morning, followed by qualifying for the main Grand Prix and the race on Sunday. The weekend becomes more lively and exciting for viewers and for the drivers alike.” Monaco has accepted the challenge of the double qualifying session, because if there’s one race where qualifying is the most important session of the year, it’s the qualifying for Sunday’s Grand Prix. From June 3 to 6, 2027, the Principality’s track will therefore be twice as thrilling, twice as engaging, and the public will be able to enjoy the action every day of the weekend. And this challenge to innovate the F1 format finds the perfect match in the tradition of a historic circuit that, after nearly a century, continues to evolve and keep pace with the times, increasingly highlighting a unique feature of the Grand Prix in the Principality: that of innovation—from the creation of the street circuit, to the invention of the checkered flag, to safety systems featuring the first cranes placed along the circuit—all leading to a more modern format in step with the times. The other sprint races of the 2027 season will take place at the season opener in Bahrain, followed by Australia, Japan, Canada, Great Britain, Italy, Brazil, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi.
