The 2024 FIA Formula One World Championship is a motor racing championship for Formula One cars and is the 75th running of the Formula One World Championship. It is recognised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), the governing body of international motorsport, as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racing cars. The championship is contested over a record twenty-four Grands Prix held around the world. It began in March and will end in December.
Drivers and teams compete for the titles of World Drivers' Champion and World Constructors' Champion, respectively. Max Verstappen is the defending Drivers' Champion, while his team, Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT, are the defending Constructors' Champions.[1][2]
Entries
The following constructors and drivers are competing in the 2024 World Championship. All teams compete with tyres supplied by Pirelli.[3] Each team is required to enter at least two drivers, one for each of the two mandatory cars.[4]
Free practice drivers
Across the season, each team has to field a driver in one of the first two free practice sessions who has not competed in more than two races, on two occasions, once for each car.[4]
| Constructor | No. | Driver | Rounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpine-Renault | 61 |  Jack Doohan | 9, 12 |
| Haas-Ferrari | 50 |  Oliver Bearman | 7, 10, 12 |
| RB-Honda RBPT | 40 |  Ayumu Iwasa | 4 |
| Red Bull Racing-Honda RBPT | 37 |  Isack Hadjar | 12 |
| Williams-Mercedes | 45 |  Franco Colapinto | 12 |
| Source:[17] | |||
Team changes
Alfa Romeo ended their partnership with Sauber and left Formula One in 2023 as Sauber prepares to become the Audi works team in 2026.[34][35] The team was rebranded as Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber, competing with the constructor name Kick Sauber.[36][15] AlphaTauri rebranded as RB and relocated the aerodynamics operations of the team to Milton Keynes in the United Kingdom amidst a management restructure.[23][37][38]
Driver changes
The only change from the drivers contracted at the beginning of 2023 occurred at the former AlphaTauri team, who replaced Nyck de Vries with Daniel Ricciardo from the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix onwards. All driver and team combinations that competed in the final round of the previous season remained unchanged for the start of the next season for the first time in Formula One World Championship history.[39][40]
In-season changes
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Carlos Sainz Jr. was forced to withdraw from the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix after he was diagnosed with appendicitis and required an appendicectomy.[41] He was replaced by Ferrari reserve and Formula 2 driver Oliver Bearman, who made his Formula One debut.[11] Sainz returned at the following Australian Grand Prix.[42]
Calendar
The 2024 calendar comprises a record twenty-four Grands Prix.[43] The Chinese, Miami, Austrian, United States, São Paulo and Qatar Grands Prix will feature the sprint format.[44]
Calendar expansion and changes
The Chinese Grand Prix returned to the calendar for the first time since 2019 after being cancelled for four years in a row due to difficulties presented by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country.[43] The Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, which was cancelled in the preceding year due to flooding in the area, also returned to the calendar.[43] The Russian Grand Prix was under contract to feature on the 2024 calendar.[46] However, the contract was terminated in 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[47]
Regulation changes
Technical regulations
In response to extreme weather conditions resulting in cockpit overheating during the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, teams are now allowed to install a scoop to the car that is intended to cool down the driver and cockpit area.[48][49] Wheel covers aiming to reduce spray in wet weather conditions will be further tested during the season.[50] Teams will not be allowed to start wind tunnel or computational fluid dynamics work for the 2026 season, which will see major technical regulations rule changes, until 1 January 2025. However, teams may still do other preliminary research and development work not covered by these restrictions.[51][52]
Tyres
The "alternative tyre allocation" trialled at the 2023 Hungarian and Italian Grands Prix, where drivers were given 11 sets of tyres in an attempt to cut costs in the sport, was discontinued. Therefore, teams reverted to having 13 sets of tyres available per driver during every non-sprint race weekend with the allocation being 12 sets for a sprint weekend.[53] The C0 tyre compound (the hardest compound in Pirelli's dry tyre range), which was introduced but not used during the 2023 season, was dropped from the tyre line-up.[54] This compound was previously known as the C1, but was renamed at the start of the 2023 season following the introduction of a new C1 compound that slotted between the old C1 and current C2 compounds in terms of hardness.[55][54] A proposed trial for a ban on tyre blankets for this season and a full ban in 2025 was abandoned.[56]
Sporting regulations
Appeals process
The decision appeal process was amended for the 2024 season. The deadline to submit a right of review request was reduced from fourteen to four days after an event. In an attempt to stop potentially frivolous appeal attempts, the FIA will also introduce a fee for the process.[57]
Sprint weekends
The structure of the sprint weekends was changed again for 2024, with the goal of rationalising sprint events and separating them from the rest of the Grand Prix weekend.[58][59][4] A sprint weekend now begins with a single practice session, followed by the sprint qualifying session, which sets the starting grid order for the sprint race. The sprint is then the first session to take place on Saturday, followed by qualifying for the main race. The Grand Prix itself remains on Sunday.[60] The FIA sporting regulations for the championship now refer to the qualifying for the sprint as "sprint qualifying", as opposed to "sprint shootout". The term "sprint qualifying" was previously used in the inaugural season of the sprint format in 2021 to refer to the sprint itself.[61] Additionally, sprint weekends now have two separate parc fermé periods as opposed to one. The first lasts from the beginning of sprint qualifying to the end of the sprint, and the second lasts from the beginning of qualifying for the Grand Prix until the start of the Grand Prix itself.[62]
DRS usage
The rules for DRS usage in Grands Prix were adjusted slightly. Drivers are now allowed to use DRS one lap after a race start, safety car restart, or red flag restart, one lap earlier than in previous seasons. This was tested during the sprints of 2023.[63]
Power unit allocation
The power unit allocation per season was again expanded from three to four per driver for the 2024 and 2025 championships.[64]
Maximum lap time
Prior to Thursday's two practice sessions at the season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, updated rules were introduced to discourage drivers from driving too slowly on in-laps and reconnaissance laps during qualifying. Drivers were initially required to not exceed a maximum time taken to drive through each marshalling sector. This was a change from 2023, when the FIA introduced a maximum time across an entire lap.[65] However, prior to Friday's third practice session and qualifying, the rules were reverted to the 2023 full-lap method, though the rule now applies on both in-laps and out-laps.[66]
Penalties
The standard sanction for a driver overtaking another driver off the track and gaining a lasting advantage has been upgraded from a five-second time penalty to a ten-second time penalty, although five-second penalties could still be awarded. The change was made as the five-second penalty was considered insufficient, with drivers regularly gaining more than five seconds through illegally overtaking slower cars off track.[67]
From the Miami Grand Prix onwards the FIA altered the regulations for judging a potential jump start. Under the previous regulations, stewards were unable to penalise a driver for a jump start if it had not been picked up by an FIA transponder. This rule led to Lando Norris of McLaren appearing to avoid a penalty despite visibly moving early at the start of the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. The update to regulations allows stewards to penalise a driver if they are moving before the start, even if the transponder does not register the infringement. The regulation also clarifies jump starts will be judged "after the four-second light is illuminated and before the start signal is given by extinguishing all red lights."[68]
Season summary
Pre-season
A single pre-season test was held at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir on 21–23 February.[69][70] Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari set the fastest time in the three-day test.[71]
Opening rounds
The season began with a Red Bull Racing 1–2 at the Bahrain Grand Prix. Max Verstappen won the race ahead of teammate Sergio Pérez and Carlos Sainz Jr.[72] After starting on pole, Verstappen led every lap and took fastest lap, for his fifth career grand chelem. Charles Leclerc, who started on the front row, finished fourth after dealing with brake issues throughout the race. After finishing sixth in the Constructors' Championship in the previous year, Alpine performed below expectations: Esteban Ocon and Pierre Gasly qualified nineteenth and twentieth and finished the race in seventeenth and eighteenth, respectively.[73][74]
Red Bull Racing continued to show their pace at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with Verstappen winning the race ahead of teammate Pérez and Charles Leclerc, with Verstappen securing his 100th podium.[75] While he led a majority of the race, a safety car caused by Lance Stroll's crash, which allowed a majority of the field to change their strategies, allowed McLaren's Lando Norris to inherit the lead temporarily before Verstappen overtook him. During the weekend, Sainz was affected with appendicitis, which resulted in his withdrawal from the event. In his place, Ferrari junior driver Oliver Bearman, who had secured pole position for the Formula 2 feature race that same weekend, stood in for Sainz while he underwent surgery.[76] Bearman qualified eleventh and went on to finish seventh. Gasly retired on lap one due to a gearbox problem.[77]
Verstappen's run of nine wins in a row ended at the Australian Grand Prix, where he retired on lap four from a dislodging of his brake disc, marking his first retirement since the 2022 Australian Grand Prix. Returnee Sainz inherited the race lead and took his third career victory, with his teammate Charles Leclerc finishing second for Ferrari's first 1–2 finish since the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix. Norris completed the podium and succeeded Nick Heidfeld for the most podiums without a victory in Formula One, while Haas scored double points, and Yuki Tsunoda scored RB's first points, respectively. Additionally to Verstappen's retirement, both Mercedes drivers also did not finish the race, with Lewis Hamilton having an engine failure and George Russell hitting the wall heavily, ending his race on the last lap.[78]
Verstappen returned to the top step of the podium at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he was unchallenged for the majority of the race with teammate Sergio Pérez, who had his first front-row start since the 2023 Miami Grand Prix, and Sainz completing the podium. The race was red-flagged due to a heavy crash that involved Daniel Ricciardo and Alexander Albon, which necessitated repairs to the tyre barriers.[79] Ricciardo's teammate Tsunoda scored a point, making him the first Japanese driver to score points at their home race since Kamui Kobayashi's podium in the 2012 edition of the race.[80]
Despite taking pole for the Chinese Grand Prix, Verstappen struggled in qualifying for the first sprint weekend of the season, only qualifying fourth behind sprint pole-sitter Norris, followed by Hamilton and Fernando Alonso. At the beginning of the sprint, Hamilton took the lead from Norris, who slid down to seventh at the first turn. The former would lead for nearly half of the sprint's distance before Verstappen overtook him and won the sprint from Hamilton and Pérez. Verstappen went on to win the Grand Prix the next day from Norris and Pérez, meaning Ferrari did not score a podium for the first time this season.[81]
At the next sprint weekend in the Miami Grand Prix, Verstappen took sprint pole and won the sprint ahead of Leclerc and Pérez, while Ricciardo scored his first points of the season with a fourth place. Verstappen took pole for the Grand Prix and led the race in the opening laps before his pit stop. A safety car triggered by Kevin Magnussen and Logan Sargeant allowed Norris to benefit during his pit stop with him re-joining the race in the lead. Norris was able to open a gap to Verstappen in second and took his maiden Formula One victory, having previously held the record of the most podiums without a victory, and giving McLaren their first victory since the 2021 Italian Grand Prix. Verstappen was second from Leclerc, Pérez, Sainz, with Hamilton achieving his best result of the season at that point with sixth. Ocon scored Alpine's first point of the season with tenth place.[82]
European and Canadian rounds
At the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Verstappen equalled Ayrton Senna's record of most consecutive poles in Formula One history at eight. He also secured his fifth win of the season, ahead of Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc, who finished second and third, respectively.[83]
Leclerc took pole position at the Monaco Grand Prix, ending Verstappen's run of eight consecutive pole positions; the latter qualifying sixth on the grid. At the start, Pérez got into a crash with Magnussen and his teammate Nico Hülkenberg, causing a red flag. The Alpines of Ocon and Gasly also had a collision, with the former retiring as a result. Ocon received a grid penalty for the following race in Canada. Leclerc took his first win since the 2022 Austrian Grand Prix, becoming the first Monégasque driver to win his home event since Louis Chiron won the 1931 edition and the first Monégasque driver to win it as a World Championship event. Oscar Piastri took his first podium of the season in second, and Sainz finished third after originally dropping back on lap one as a result of a puncture caused by a collision with Piastri.[84]
After a dead heat between Verstappen and Russell during qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix, with Russell winning out by virtue of setting the time first, the start was held under intermediate conditions. Ferrari recorded its first retirements of the season when Leclerc and Sainz failed to finish, with Leclerc experiencing engine issues. Sainz meanwhile spun at turn 7 and collected Albon, who was the last Williams on track at that time as Sargeant had retired earlier. This was Ferrari's first double retirement since the 2022 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Sergio Pérez, who got knocked out in Q1 for the second consecutive race weekend in a row, failed to finish after he spun into the barrier, damaging the back of his RB20. He was later given a three-place grid penalty to be served in the following Spanish Grand Prix for trailing back to the pits with a damaged rear wing. Two safety car periods were observed during the race, which was won by Verstappen ahead of Norris and Russell, who recorded Mercedes' first podium of the season. Hamilton, who attained the fastest lap of the race, finished behind Russell in fourth, his best result of the season to date.[85]
Norris took pole position at the Spanish Grand Prix, but lost the lead to Verstappen after a slow start. Verstappen led the race from start to finish to take victory ahead of Norris and Hamilton, who recorded his first podium of the season and Mercedes' second consecutive podium in a row.[86]
The Austrian Grand Prix featured the third sprint of the season. Verstappen took pole position for the sprint, which he proceeded to win ahead of the McLarens of Piastri and Norris. Verstappen also took pole position for the main race and was on course to win after leading the majority of it, but Norris soon closed the gap to him after a slow pit stop for Verstappen, who was now on older tyres with Norris having a tyre advantage. However, soon afterwards, Verstappen and Norris made contact, marking Norris' second retirement of the season following the Miami Grand Prix sprint, and Verstappen dropped down the order after a puncture. Russell benefited from the two making contact to take his second career victory, and Mercedes' second victory in the ground effect era, after the 2022 São Paulo Grand Prix. Russell was joined on the podium by Piastri and Sainz.[87]
Russell took pole position for the British Grand Prix and led the first half of the race, which was held under intermittent rain, before retiring due to a water cooling issue. Norris inherited the lead after passing Russell, but he lost time switching to soft tyres after the period of rain had ended. Hamilton took advantage of this to inherit the lead as Norris' soft tyres began to degrade, allowing Verstappen, who was on hard tyres, to overtake him. By the end of the race, Verstappen began to close in on Hamilton, but the latter held on to take his first victory since the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. Following Russell's victory at the Austrian Grand Prix a week earlier, Mercedes won consecutive Grands Prix for the first time since 2021. Hamilton's victory was the 104th of his career, and his ninth British Grand Prix victory, which also broke the record he shared with Michael Schumacher for most Grand Prix wins at a single circuit.[88]
Results and standings
Grands Prix
Scoring system
Points are awarded to the top ten classified drivers, the driver who sets the fastest lap during the Grand Prix (only if one of the top ten), and the top eight of the sprint.[89][e] In the case of a tie on points, a countback system is used where the driver with the most Grand Prix wins is ranked higher. If the number of wins is identical, then the number of second places is considered, and so on.[91] Points are awarded using the following system:
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | 6th | 7th | 8th | 9th | 10th | FL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race | 25 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Sprint[d] | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |||
| Source:[89] | |||||||||||
World Drivers' Championship standings
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Notes:
- † – Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.
World Constructors' Championship standings
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Notes:
- † – Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.
- Rows are not related to the drivers: within each constructor, individual Grand Prix standings are sorted purely based on the final classification in the race (not by total points scored in the event, which includes points awarded for fastest lap and sprint).
