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The 2024 F1 Chinese GP will be the first race of the season to have a sprint race based on a slightly tweaked format introduced by the sport.
Sprint races were introduced to F1 back in 2021 at Silverstone and were completely different from what they are today. In 2021, they were essentially an extra qualifying race that determined the grid for the main race. The grid for the sprint race was determined by the traditional qualifying session.
Since then, a lot has changed, with F1 and the FIA testing many formats to see what sticks and improves its spectacle.
Before the start of the 2024 F1 season, the sport announced that they would once again bring small changes to the sprint weekend format. They shifted the sprint qualifying from Saturday to Friday and pushed the traditional qualifying forward. These changes were proposed to the World Motor Sport Council back in February.
The current sprint race weekend format is as follows:
- Friday - Practice 1 & Sprint Qualifying
- Saturday - Sprint Race & Grand Prix Qualifying
- Sunday - Grand Prix
Due to this updated sprint format, the parc ferme system also has been split into two sections. The first would apply before Friday's sprint qualifying and end after Saturday's sprint race. This will allow teams to make changes to their cars based on their learnings from sprint sessions. The second parc ferme restriction would then apply before Saturday's main qualifying session.
This newly made format will soon be tested for the first time in the 2024 F1 Chinese GP, held from April 19 to 21.
Official timing for the 2024 F1 Chinese GP
Since the Chinese GP will have a sprint race weekend, its schedule will be different from a traditional F1 weekend.
Here are all the timings for the race in Shanghai:
Timings for all sessions
Thursday, April 19
Practice 1: 3:30 to 4:30 am GMT (4:30 to 5:30 am BST) (9:00 to 10:00 am IST)
Sprint Qualifying: 7:30 to 8:14 am GMT (8:30 to 9:14 am BST) (1 to 1:44 pm IST)
Friday, April 20
Sprint Race: 3 to 4 am GMT (4 to 5 am BST) (8:30 to 9:30 am IST)
Qualifying: 7:00 to 8:00 am GMT (8:00 to 9:00 am BST) (12:30 to 1:30 pm IST)
Saturday, April 21
Chinese Grand Prix: 7:00 am GMT (8:00 am BST) (12:30 pm IST)
