FIA Announces Crucial Changes To Sprint And Grand Prix Formats

Monday, 05 February 2024 at 20:00

FIA just announced the most important conclusions from the Formula 1 commission meeting that took place today - on February 5th, 2024.

Sprint Weekend Changes

The Sprint weekend format has been one of the main topics of discussion over the course of the most recent season. Many drivers and team principals suggested Sprints might be a great idea but need more refinement.

First, some of the most common problems were that too few points were awarded for sprint races. Secondly, Sprint races only reveal what happens in the first part of the Grand Prix race on Sunday, and lastly, the qualifying for the sprint was confusing.

However, in the end, none of these were addressed, and the change that we will be getting is only the order in the sequence of the Sprint Weekend. Previously, it was FP1, Qualifying, Sprint Shootout, Sprint race, and the Grand Prix race.

Now, the Sprint Shootout will be moved to Friday following the FP1 session. On Saturday, there will be the Sprint race followed by Qualifying for the main event. And finally, the Grand Prix race will take place on Sunday. FIA's media statement detailed:

"Following previous support by the F1 Commission for an update to the Sprint weekend there was agreement for a re-ordering of the sessions during the Sprint weekend with Free Practice 1 and Sprint Qualifying taking place on Friday, the Sprint and Grand Prix Qualifying on Saturday and the Grand Prix on Sunday."

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DRS Changes

Surprisingly, FIA proposes changes to the DRS activation. Until now, the DRS could be activated only two laps after the race starts or the race restarts.

However, from 2024, DRS will be activated after just one lap. This should promote more racing and prevent leading cars from escaping the rest of the pack.

"DRS Activation for the Race 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."

Power Unit Allocation

It was suggested throughout the winter break that we would see a decrease in PU (power unit) allocation going into the 2024 season.

However, FIA has approved the allocation of four PUs per driver. This will allow teams and drivers to push their cars more and, again, promote more exciting racing on the limit.