During the changeover from a first operating mode of a spark-ignition engine with direct fuel injection to a second operating mode, in particular between a homogeneous stoichiometric and homogeneous lean, stratified or HCCI operation with changeovers of the valve stroke or the valve phase, there is the risk of an undesired torque jump, which can lead to a perceptible jolting of the vehicle or to a disturbance in the running of the spark-ignition engine. The invention thus proposes, in particular in the case of an inadmissibly large torque jump, the initiation of a multiple injection of fuel in addition to the conventional compensation by the displacement of the ignition angle. A partial quantity of said fuel is injected during the compression phase to reduce the degree of efficiency, thus reducing the torque produced.