F1 sprint set to be tweaked, teams banned from starting work early on 2026 cars

Following a meeting of the F1 Commission, a number of changes and decisions were announced, most notably surrounding the sprint format. 

Following Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc’s disqualifications at the United States Grand Prix, there were calls for the FIA to relax parc ferme regulations, and potentially adjust the schedule as a whole on sprint weekends.

While the FIA haven’t yet outlined the specific changes, it seems probable that conventional qualifying will be moved back to Saturday with the sprint event being the main focus at the start of weekends.

The FIA noted: “The Commission gave overall support for an update to the Sprint Format for 2024 to further rationalise the weekend by separating Sprint activities from those for the Grand Prix. The final calendar for the 2024 Sprint events will be published in the coming weeks.

“The Sporting Advisory Committee will work through specific details, particularly regarding timing and parc fermé regulations, for a final proposal to be presented to the F1 Commission for the first meeting of 2024.”

Another notable announcement from the FIA was that teams are prohibited from starting development work on their 2026 car before the start of 2026.

This stops teams from completely giving up - or potentially a dominant team like Red Bull - shifting all of their focus to the new rules.

Other changes

Further tests will take place in 2024 with regards to the ‘wet weather package’ to reduce spray and improve visibility for drivers.

In conjunction with Pirelli, a focus on the “development for future tyres should be focused on reducing issues of overheating and improving the raceability of the tyres, and therefore the decision was taken to keep tyre blankets for 2025”.

Further analysis is being done to improve driver cooling following the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, while the Commission also approved “ further refinements regarding the exclusion of Sustainability Initiative Costs from the Financial Regulations.”