The proposal came from the Sky F1 commentator David Croft which suggested separating the Sprint format from the Formula 1 World Championship. By doing so, there would be a very distinct ranking, and a greater chance of having two different World Champions at the end of the season. But let's take a closer look at what Croft's idea is based on.
An evolving Sprint
Since its introduction in 2021 the Sprint format has been tested and modified. Above all to help teams and drivers dealing with a much more complex weekend than the traditional one. Compared to 2021 there have been several changes in format. Friday's qualifying returned to re-establish the starting order of the race which initially belonged to the Sprint race. Furthermore, the second free practices on Saturday have been removed and replaced with an additional qualification called Sprint Shootout. However, the testing phase is not over yet. In fact, next year, more news will arrive.
One of the problems to be resolved according to the drivers and teams is linked to the theme of the parc fermé. With only one free practice session, and due to qualifying starting on Friday, the parc fermé rule becomes decisive for the progress of the weekend. There are teams, like Ferrari, who immediately found a good set-up in the Sprints, but there are others, like Mercedes who have struggled more. Just a pilot from the star team, George Russell, at the end of the weekend in Belgium he spoke about this problem and how it affects the results.
The idea of the Sprint World Championship
Since it is a format still in the experimental phase according to David Croft the next step could be to make it a stand-alone, completely separate series. This would also allow us to find a solution to the obstacle of parc fermé on the mini-race weekends.

“Overall the Sprint concept is good, I like it“Croft said speaking on the Sky F1 podcast. “But I don't like that it's part of the World Championship. I like two separate World Championships. Maybe the sprint day could take place on Friday, instead of Saturday. You could do the Sprint qualifying and then the Sprint with a 20 minute warm-up in the morning. This is Friday. So the cars aren't in parc fermé for the rest of the weekend. Then there would be free practice on Saturday morning, qualifying on Saturday and the race on Sunday. So the two things are very distinct, for different world championships."
The idea of having a separate World Championship could also give space to riders who are not part of the 20 currently on the grid. “If all the drivers don't want to race in the Sprint World Championship, that's fine." Croft said. "There are enough reserve pilots who want it. Maybe this is a good way to get reserve pilots involved. So, from a business point of view, that's what I would consider."
Source statements: Planet F1