The proposed ban on tyre blankets has been postponed into 2025, The Formula 1 Commission has decided. Following their third meeting of 2023 on the circuit in Spa-Francorchamps. the teams, FIA and FOM discussed the findings reported by Pirelli, whose 2023 testing effort primarly focussed on this proposed ban. The results showed a ban would be possible, but nonetheless the decision was made to postpone a ban in 2024.
“Pirelli reported on the outcome of this test campaign to the F1 Commission. The results of the testing undertaken so far show that the change can be implemented to the requested target specifications for 2024, however it has been decided to postpone the introduction of a tyre blanket ban for dry tyres in 2024 and to continue this discussion and further testing into 2025.
“Further analysis will continue for other potential future changes to the regulations that can improve the environmental sustainability of the sport.”
Another big talking point was the equalisation of power unit performance, mainly because Alpine seems to be lacking power from their Renault engines. The FIA has indeed found that there was a performance disparity, and all manufacturers (Mercedes, Ferrari, Renault and RBPT) have agreed for the Power Unit Advisory Committee to investigate solutions.
“The FIA has been analysing the PU Performance of the cars during the first half of 2023, and concluded that there is one such notable performance gap between competitors.
“On the basis of the commitment of the PU Manufacturers, and of the performance differences reported above, the F1 Commission discussed ways to remedy this discrepancy.
“The Power Unit Manufacturers represented at the Commission agreed to give a mandate to the Power Unit Advisory Committee to consider this topic and bring proposals back to the Commission.”
Furthermore, the FIA and Formula 1 have consulted with the drivers regarding standing starts close to the end of the race, but since no idea received enough support, the teams “reaffirmed that the final decision on this topic always remains at the discretion of the Race Director based on the specific conditions of each restart.”
The 2026 regulations were also discussed, with the FIA presenting an update in this department, with the main takeaway that the FIA is currently investigating how to reduce both the size and weight of the cars.
“The FIA is currently analysing the most effective ways to achieve a significant reduction in the size and weight of the cars, as well as improving the energy management.”
Finally there were some discussions in regard to capital expenditure in relation to the cost cap, and the confirmation that the 2024 pre-season test will take place in Bahrain from February 21st until February 23rd.
