diff --git a/Objects/stringlib/formatter.h b/Objects/stringlib/formatter.h
index c5cda4cebf9..1f3c535b4ae 100644
--- a/Objects/stringlib/formatter.h
+++ b/Objects/stringlib/formatter.h
@@ -934,8 +934,12 @@ format_float_internal(PyObject *value,
 
     if (precision < 0)
         precision = 6;
+
+#if PY_VERSION_HEX < 0x03010000
+    /* 3.1 no longer converts large 'f' to 'g'. */
     if ((type == 'f' || type == 'F') && fabs(val) >= 1e50)
         type = 'g';
+#endif
 
     /* Cast "type", because if we're in unicode we need to pass a
        8-bit char. This is safe, because we've restricted what "type"