Following last weekend’s F1 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, and ahead of the official FIA prize giving ceremony, the WMSC met in Rwanda.
A number of minor updates were made to both sporting and technical regulations for 2025, including the inclusion of ‘Heat Hazard’ regulations.
Following last year’s Qatar Grand Prix, which saw temperatures soar and drivers struggle, work went into the introduction of a cooling system for cars.
That has included an additional allowance for weight when the system is called for – a process determined by race control.
There were also changes to the financial regulations for 2025 and 2026 designed to widen the definition of “sustainability initiatives” so as to exclude those efforts from the cost cap.
Changes have also been made to the 2026 technical regulations ahead of greater freedom for teams to begin development in the new year.
Finally, it has been revealed that a new element will be introduced to the rulebook.
Termed the operational regulations, it’s designed to cover elements of an F1 team’s operation away from the race track.
Initially that will include elements such as aerodynamic and power unit testing, and mandatory shutdown periods.
Previously those aspects were governed under the sporting regulations.
It was a wide ranging meeting for the WMSC that also addressed key elements of the World Rally Championship, including an evolution of its points structure – mirroring the system used in F1 whereby the top 10 receive points, with 25 for the winner.
There is a bonus system in place too, applicable only to the Sunday of events, with a maximum of five points on offer, down to one for the fifth place.
Its designed to simplify the points structure and eliminate anomalies where a rally winner could receive fewer championship points than the second placed finisher.
The FIA also laid the foundations for the WRC’s 2027 regulations with a focus on “cost reduction, flexibility, and sustainability.”
It also touched on esports, with the development of an Esports Code as part of the International Sporting Code and comes off the back of sanctioning two esports competitions during the 2024 FIA Motorsport Games.
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