Autobayng News Team
The FIA will introduce a new rule requiring teams to paint or place stickers on their cars from next season.
The F1 Commission also agreed changes to the rules on drivers’ career numbers and the aerodynamic testing restrictions, and discussed the possibility of forcing drivers to make more than one pit stop per race.
The FIA will require teams to ensure at least 55% of their cars’ surface area will be painted or stickered, when viewed from the side or above, next year. This is being done as teams have increasingly left areas of their cars blank to save weight.
This was a particular problem in 2022, the first season following the last major change in technical regulations, when teams found it difficult to get their cars down to the minimum weight limit. That limit is due to fall next year, raising concerns teams may limit the extent of their cars’ liveries as a weight-saving measure again.
“It was agreed by Commission representatives that a minimum of 55% of surface area (when viewed from the side and above) must be covered by painted or stickered liveries as opposed to bare carbon fibre surfaces,” said the FIA in a statement. “The objective of this measure is to increase visual differentiation between cars.”
The commission also agreed the first change to the rules on drivers’ permanent career numbers since they were introduced in 2014. “A proposal for drivers to change their numbers during their career would be permitted,” it noted.
The ATR, which restricts how much aerodynamic testing teams may conduct based on their championship positions, has also been reviewed. “Changes to Aerodynamic Testing Restrictions (ATR) are being developed to bring Formula 1 into line with contemporary processing and simulation technology while mindful of cost considerations,” said the FIA.
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No agreement has yet been reached on whether drivers should be required to make two tyre changes at all races instead of one. Drivers are currently required to change tyres once at all races bar Monaco, where a two-change minimum was introduced this year.
Although no plan has been set for the 2026 season, the FIA said discussions around the idea will continue. Another concept, forcing drivers to use three different tyre compounds during a race, was also mooted.
Formula 1
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- Verstappen is eighth F1 driver to race from pits to podium: Brazilian GP stats
- Verstappen’s latest setback makes this season look even more like a 2007 repeat
- Audi reveals ‘R26 Concept’ Formula 1 car design and targets titles by 2030
- F1 fans shocked as ferry company screens “adult film” by mistake
