There had been much whinging by teams about the formats of the various sprint races during the 2023 Formula One season and Formula 1 has decided to make some changes to the format of sprint races for the 2024 season.
Going forward in the 2024 F1 season, free practice and sprint qualifying will be on Friday, with the sprint race on Saturday, followed by qualifying for the main grand prix – this is a change from Saturday previously being an emphasized sprint day.
There will be six sprint races this year – in China, Miami, Austria, USA Grand Prix in Austin, Brazil and Qatar – with China and Miami being first-time hosts of the sprint race format.
The FiA – F1’s governing body – has also confirmed DRS activation will be “anticipated to one lap as opposed to two laps after the start of the race, or the re-start following a safety car”.