A return to China, new sprint race venues and multiple renamed teams. The 2024 Formula 1 season might not feature as many sweeping changes as many recent years, but there are some notable differences heading into the upcoming season.
Here’s what’s changed – and what hasn’t – for the 75th Formula 1 world championship season.
Drivers
It doesn’t take long to recap all of the driver market moves for 2024 – because there aren’t any.
For the first time in the history of Formula 1, every driver who finished last year’s final round in Abu Dhabi will take the grid for the season opener in Bahrain with the same team. All 20 drivers, from Max Verstappen to Logan Sargeant, have retained their seats from 2023 to 2024, without a single driver move between them. In fact, the only difference between the field who will compete in Bahrain in March and the 20 drivers who raced there last year will be that Daniel Ricciardo races in place of Nyck de Vries after he replaced the rookie driver midway through last season.
With all 20 race drivers the same, there are a couple of changes to the drivers who will act as reserves over the season. As seen with Ricciardo and Red Bull reserve Liam Lawson, there’s always a possibility that a reserve driver could be called up to step in for a team mate in the event of a mishap or illness.
Many teams are retaining their reserve drivers for this season, including Aston Martin who will once again have development driver Felipe Drugovich on standby, or Sauber, who will keep Theo Pourchaire in the garage during the season. However, McLaren have changed their reserves for the new season.
Out goes 2023 reserve Alex Palou following a very public breakdown in McLaren’s relationship with them. Instead, Palou’s place will be filled by fellow IndyCar racer Pato O’Ward and Toyota World Endurance Championship racer and Le Mans 24 Hours winner Ryo Hirakawa. Many other teams have yet to formally confirm their reserves for the new season.
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Teams
The last 12 months have seen the question of whether Andretti will get to join the grid as an 11th team in the upcoming years become one of the hottest talking points in the sport. But while Andretti’s formal approval remains in limbo while Formula 1 considers whether to accept their bid, the 2024 grid will be made up of the same ten entities it has since 2016 with the arrival of Haas as the newest team in…
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