F1 Commission: No rookie race and adjustments to 2026 technical regulations
F1 News
- Ludo van Denderen
Both Formula 1 teams and the FIA were enthusiastic about the idea. Nevertheless, the F1 Commission has decided there will be no race for rookies in 2024 in the days after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The meeting, chaired by Nikolas Tombazis, Director of the Single Seater Department of the FIA, and Stefano Domenicali, president and CEO of Formula 1, further approved some adjustments to the 2026 technical regulations.
Originally, the idea was to organise a sprint race on the Tuesday after the Abu Dhabi GP, in which each F1 team would field a rookie. These youngsters could thus gain experience in a race with Formula 1 cars. Although the concept of a rookie race received widespread support, the meeting - this time held at the Visa Cash App RB offices - decided that the event would not take place in 2024 due to time and organisational constraints. Talks are continuing to formulate a possible concept and plan for 2025, the FIA informed.
Adjustments to technical regulations for 2026
Following discussions at recent Technical Advisory Committee meetings and ongoing discussions with Formula 1 teams, a number of changes to the 2026 technical regulations in the areas of performance, aerodynamics and safety have been included in the latest version of these regulations. This would improve the aerodynamic performance of the cars from '26 onwards. The FIA has not (yet) disclosed exactly what the changes are.
It has also been decided that, with the new regulations for power units, there will be three pre-season tests of three days each in 2026. It is still unknown which circuits will be used.