At the F1 Commission meeting held at Spa today, the FIA, the F1 organization, and the teams discussed several important matters and reached a decision.
Tyre blankets were one of the main items on the agenda. The 2024 rules specify that they are used, and it would have taken a vote and agreement for that to change.
Previously, it was mentioned that the general agreement is that the prototypes have shown the ability to reach the desired temperature shortly after leaving the pits at test venues such as Bahrain, Barcelona, and Silverstone. However, teams expressed the need to observe their performance on a variety of tracks and gain further understanding of their behavior when transitioning from intermediates on a wet track.
It has been agreed to revisit the issue ahead of 2025. The complication is that the same season sees the start of a new tyre tender deal, and it’s yet to be confirmed whether it will go to incumbent Pirelli or the returning Bridgestone.
It was decided to implement intermediates without blankets in 2024, while wet tires have already been used since this year’s Monaco GP.
The topic of PU equalisation was also discussed, focusing on Alpine’s request to have more flexibility in developing their Renault engine in order to narrow the gap with their competitors.
The French manufacturer supposedly received some understanding, but no consensus was achieved, and the power unit advisory committee will continue to discuss the issue.
Alpine A523 detail
Photo by: Uncredited
The topic of expanding the capital expenditure allowance within the cost cap to assist Williams and other companies in enhancing their factory infrastructure through additional investment was also talked about, but once again, no consensus was reached. The issue was forwarded to the financial advisory committee for further discussion.
In anticipation of 2026, there were additional talks regarding methods to decrease the dimensions and mass of the vehicles for the upcoming set of rule modifications. These discussions are set to persist at the technical advisory committee.
There was also a discussion regarding the commencement of races while standing, following the problems observed during this year’s Australian GP.
The decision was made to maintain the regulations as they are and entrust the responsibility of calling for standing restarts to the FIA race director, instead of implementing a rule that mandates them after a specific portion of the race has been completed.
Finally, next year’s pre-season testing in Bahrain was confirmed for February 21-23.
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