FIA and F1 teams are out: Multiple changes to the rules to act fast

Breaking News

31 March 2020 at 13:23
  • GPblog.com

The Formula 1 and the FIA announced Tuesday afternoon that several changes have been made to the regulations of the sport. The World Motor Sport Council has approved the plans, which will allow the top of F1 to act faster in the future.

Because of the coronavirus, the start of the Formula 1 season has been postponed for the time being. Already eight races have been postponed or even cancelled and that forces the lead to take measures. With a lot of interested parties, Formula 1 is normally a true political drama, but with changed regulations, Formula 1 should now be able to act faster.

Formula 1 intervenes

For example, the World Motor Sport Counsil has given the President of the FIA the authority to make decisions about the 2020 World Championship himself. The President of the FIA will always first discuss the proposal with the Vice President and some other key executives within the sports committee.

In order to achieve this, the following regulations have been amended:

- The addition of Article 1.3, in order to be able to change certain articles with 60% support amongst the teams, so as to increase flexibility during this difficult period. In any case a subsequent approval by the World Motor Sport Council will be required.
- The permission for the FIA and Formula 1 to change the calendar without a vote (deletion of Article 5.5) 
- Changes to testing (Article 10.5) 
- Addition of Power Unit Manufacturers shutdown (Article 21.10 and 21.11)
- Changes to permissible Power Unit elements if the number of races reduces (Article 23.3) 
- The banning of aerodynamic development for the 2022 Regulations during 2020 (starting on Saturday 28 March).  

In addition, the statement also states that, as mentioned earlier, the regulations for 2021 will be postponed to 2022. However, from March onwards the teams are forbidden to work on the design of the 2022 car in 2020. Mercedes' Duel Axis Steering(DAS) is still illegal from 2021 onwards and can therefore not be used by Mercedes in that season.