F1 changes face

Meeting at its headquarters, Place de la Concorde in Paris, the Fédération Internationale Automobile governed by Sir Max Mosley, adopted a whole series of measures aimed at revolutionizing the world of F1 as we currently know it, and to rediscover its original sporting values. Some of the changes made to the regulations will take effect this year, and it must be said that some are quite surprising...

Regulatory changes 2009

Points

The World Motor Sport Council finally adopted a proposal very close to that of the FOM, or more particularly that of Bernie Ecclestone, aimed at rewarding the holder of the greatest number of victories. At least in part.

Indeed, the title of World Champion will now be awarded to the driver who has won the most races during the season. If two or more drivers finish with the same number of victories, the title will be awarded to the driver having scored the most points, the scale remaining identical to the current one unlike the recent proposal from FOTA, the association of team representatives . The proposal to distribute medals for the first, second and third was therefore not accepted.

The rest of the general classification of the Drivers' championship will still be established according to the system currently in force, while the Manufacturers' championship is not affected by these measures.

Private testing

Teams will be authorized to conduct three days of testing lasting one day each to evaluate young drivers candidates for a seat in F1, between the end of the championship and December 31 of the same year. Eligible drivers must not have participated in more than two championship events, nor have tested a car of Formula 1 for more than four days, in the 24 months preceding these test days.

Each team will also have the opportunity to conduct eight days of testing to test their car's aerodynamic package, on FIA-approved straights or constant curves, between January 1, 2009 and the last Grand Prix of the season.

Audience – Media

The weight of each car will be publicly revealed after each qualifying session.

The current "wet" tires have been renamed "intermediate" and therefore the "extreme rain" will be called "wet".

During the first day of testing, each driver must make themselves available to sign autographs in their respective boxes on the pit lane.

Any driver eliminated in qualifying must make himself available for an interview with journalists who wish, immediately after the end of each session.

Any driver forced to retire before the end of the race must make himself available to respond to the media upon his return to the paddock, and any driver finishing the race outside the Top 3 must do the same.

During the race, each team must have an official spokesperson capable of speaking to the officially accredited TV teams.

Other measures should very soon be adopted by the World Council for the 2009 season.

Regulatory changes 2010

Budgets

The current budgetary regulations being viable until 2012, an alternative is put in place for new manufacturers wishing to participate in the championship. The FIA ​​is indeed offering the possibility of having a fully operational car, to race at a lower cost. The total budget is set at 30 million pounds per season, or a little more than 32 million euros.

To allow these cars to be relatively competitive, among those of the teams which will not have budgetary constraints, certain technical freedoms will be authorized:

1- A standard flat bottom with more efficient aerodynamics.

2- Adjustable fins.

3- An engine which will not be subject to a limited speed or a development freeze.

The FIA ​​reserves the right to revise certain elements in order to be sure that these cars will have neither an advantage nor a disadvantage compared to other single-seaters.