The race featured the Grand Prix debut of Franco Colapinto, who drove for Williams until the end of the season.

[7] The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with the exception of Franco Colapinto, who replaced Logan Sargeant at Williams from this Grand Prix onwards.

The first free practice session was held on 30 August 2024, at 13:30 local time (UTC+2), and was topped by Max Verstappen of Red Bull Racing ahead of Charles Leclerc of Ferrari and Lando Norris of McLaren.

Debutant Andrea Kimi Antonelli spun at turn 11, crashing into the wall and causing the session to be stopped temporarily.

[17] The second free practice session was held on the same day, at 17:00 local time, and was topped by Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes ahead of Norris and Carlos Sainz Jr. of Ferrari.

The third practice session was held on 31 August 2024, at 12:30 local time, and was topped by Hamilton ahead of his teammate George Russell and Leclerc.

[20] Leclerc stopped early to run the hard tyres, a decision he initially criticised on team radio.

A Williams junior, Colapinto was brought in from Formula 2 early to replace Logan Sargeant, who was dropped due to underperforming.

This took Magnussen over the limit of 12 points for a rolling year, and earning him a one-race ban from the following 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.