Everything that is new in Formula 1 for 2024

2024 will be an odd Formula 1 season. In that, for the first timeever, every driver who finished the 2023 campaign will be back, inthe same seat, for 2024 and there are no new tracks joining theschedule. The technical regulations are remaining stable as well,so everything feels rather static. However, there are plenty ofchanges in the offering. Sprint format While yet to be officiallyconfirmed, the meeting of the F1 Commission at the Abu Dhabi GrandPrix made clear that major changes are going to be made to theSprint weekend format. In 2023, the Sprint Shootout was added to ineffect, create standalone Sprint events during the Grand Prixweekend, with GP qualifying on a Friday before the race on Sunday.A seperate qualifying session for the Sprint was held on Saturdaymorning before that race in the afternoon. But the feeling was thisformat created too many problems. Firstly, after just 60 minutes ofpractice, cars would enter parc ferme after Grand Prix qualifying,locking them into a set-up for the rest of the weekend. In theUnited States, Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc were disqualifiedfrom second and third for excessive plank wear that Mercedes andFerrari felt came from limited practice running to determine theride-height. As such format and parc ferme changes are beingdiscussed ahead of another six Sprints in 2024 - taking place inChina, Miami, Austria, the United States, Brazil and Qatar. GrandPrix of China, Imola Grand Prix and the longest calendar ever 24races were originally on the 2023 calendar, before China wascancelled due to COVID restrictions, with the Emilia Romagna GP atImola also being called off due to heavy rain and the idea ofrunning an international sporting event in a disaster zone anddirecting away emergency personnel from search and rescue effortsnot being the best. But both return in 2024 - with China set tohost its first race since 2019. F1 has not visited Shanghai sincethe outbreak of COVID-19, with the last race being the 1,000thWorld Championship Grand Prix. The 2023 season-ending Abu Dhabirace was #1101. 24 Grands Prix is two-thirds the length of a pointsNASCAR Cup calendar with 36 events in stock car racing's highestlevel. NASCAR actually hosts 40 Cup races per year, with thenon-points Clash, Duels at Daytona and the All-Star exhibitionrace. New team names Alfa Romeo and AlphaTauri will be no more in2024. Alfa Romeo ended their title sponsorship of Sauber - who havesince announced a deal to be known as Stake F1 Team for 2024 and2025. This is preparation for Audi's arrival in 2026. As forAlphaTauri, its new name is still to be announced with the tea setto enjoy closer collaboration with Red Bull under its newleadership of Laurent Mekies and Peter Bayer. Right of review Thetechnical regulations remain the same, but the FIA has changed therules around protests. In 2023, Haas submitted a right of reviewrequest, nearly two weeks after the United States Grand Prix, as itfelt new evidence had come to light over track limit violations inAustin that were not penalised. The stewards threw the case out,but the FIA felt that having uncertainty about a race result solong after was far from beneficial and so has moved to close thattimeframe to just four days - or 96 hours. Hot conditions The QatarGP in October was a mix of unfortunate events that combined to takea serious effect on the health of the drivers. Firstly, the trackitself is already physically demanding with multiple high speed andhigh G corners, which coupled with a lack of wind for coolingimpacted the drivers. This added to the fact that every driver waspushing flat out as an 18 lap maximum stint length had been imposedon safety grounds meant the drivers took a battering. Esteban Oconvomited in his helmet, Lance Stroll claimed he lost consciousnessbehind the wheel while Logan Sargeant retired with severedehydration. As such, the FIA has mandated that cooling scoops willbe on every car in 2024 to channel more air to the driver, withother options also under consideration.