F1 reveals session times for British GP weekend ahead of sprint qualifying debut

Silverstone will be the first venue to trial the new format, with Monza and Interlagos also expected to trial it later on in the season.

An additional sprint race will take place on Saturday, with qualifying being moved to Friday.

Friday will consist of one 60-minute practice session followed by a qualifying session in the afternoon to determine the grid for the 100km sprint race.

Friday's traditional second practice will be moved to Saturday morning, ahead of the sprint qualifying race, the results of which will then decide the starting grid for Sunday’s main grand prix.

Reduced points - 3, 2, 1 - will be on offer for the top three finishers of sprint qualifying.

British Grand Prix weekend schedule:

All times local time

FRIDAY

FP1: 1430-1530

Qualifying: 1800-1900

SATURDAY

FP2: 1200-1300

Sprint Qualifying: 1630-1700

SUNDAY

Race: 1500

The proposals were met with an overwhelmingly positive reaction from the drivers when asked for their opinions at Imola last month.

Reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton praised the sport for being “open-minded”.

“I’ve always said that we need to have some sort of different format throughout the year at some tracks,” Hamilton said. “Particularly like Monaco, for example. It’s beautiful to be at but it’s not an exciting race necessarily. 

“So I like that they’re open-minded and making changes. I think from those experimental weekends, hopefully the sport will learn lots on how we can deploy better races moving forwards.”