The FIA , after the meeting of the World Motor Council , issued this Wednesday the decisions made on many of its championships, starting with the premier category, Formula 1.
FIA changes to the 2022 Formula 1 Sporting and Technical Regulations
- The rules governing car limitations during tire tests have been updated.
- The calendar of the official activities of the pilots with the media prior to each Grand Prix has been updated. That activity will now take place within a two-hour window, and will be done 23 hours before the start of Free Practice 1 (FP1 on Friday)
- Tests for rear wing trailing edge deflection and beam wing flex have been updated.
- Fuel will now be allowed to cool down to 20°C on the hottest races. The temperature reference will be taken one hour before the session.
- Mirror regulations have been updated to allow more rearward visibility inside cars
- An update has been carried out that allows a power unit in Parc Fermé to be replaced with a new specification
- Provision has been made to allow temporary repairs to be carried out on power units
Those last points, those related to the engines, are the most important of all the measures announced by the FIA. Now, teams can breathe in the face of the many reliability issues they are experiencing with their power units.
For example, Red Bull accused this lack of reliability at the beginning of the world championship, and now it is Ferrari (both in its team and in the customer teams) that most accuses problems related to the engines.
Now the FIA has announced that it will allow teams to swap out power units in parc fermé conditions for newer versions that they would have introduced in their engine pool for the season.
Before, if they replaced any new spec item in the engine, they were forced to start the race with that car from the pitlane. As an example, teams will now be able to decide to use one engine for qualifying and another, previously used, for the race.
In addition, the FIA has added a clause in the regulations to allow temporary repair of power units.
Beyond the engines, the FIA has reacted to some of the controversies of 2022. For example, the floor that Ferrari used in a 2023 Pirelli tire test in Imola raised controversy, and although it was finally discovered that it was a piece that had already tested in another race, the highest body has modified the rules of those tire tests.
Also, at the Spanish GP, Red Bull came close to breaking a rule with Max Verstappen on fuel cooling, and now the teams could cool the fuel to 20ºC in the hottest races.
On the other hand, as reported by Motorsport.com, the FIA has reversed a measure introduced in 2022 on the format of the weekend. To reduce fatigue for drivers and team staff, this year’s press conferences with the media were held on Friday morning instead of Thursday. However, in practice, this turned out to be the other way around, as the drivers had to get up earlier on Friday and still had commitments on Thursday as well.
Now, from this British GP, the press conferences will be on Thursday again, and will have a maximum duration of two hours.
For the cars, the deflection tests have been updated to check the flexibility of the rear wings and their elements, and the rear-view mirror rules have also been modified to help improve visibility.
Finally, in its statement, the FIA revealed that it had discussed future engine rules for 2026 but had not yet agreed on the final regulations. It is expected to be concluded soon and Audi and Porsche will officially announce their entry into F1.
