The Formula 1 Commission has approved the extension to six Grand Prix with Sprint format in 2023. In addition, the reduction of tires will be tested and work will be done to reduce the weight and size of the single-seaters of the next technical regulation.
It was already anticipated Formula 1 after the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix and today it has been officially confirmed: from 2023 the category will have six events governed by the Sprint format.
This has been decided by the commission after a meeting held in London and in which the foundations of the new 2026 technical regulations have also been laid, as well as the widespread use of cameras in the pilots’ helmet, among other things.
Official statement from the FIA
The Formula 1 Commission met today, April 26, in London for its second meeting of the year. The President of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayemchaired and opened the meeting, congratulating the Formula 1 community on the exciting start to the 2022 campaign.
The following is a summary of the key discussion points and decisions.
Sprint
With the first of three Sprint events of the 2022 season popular with fans and stakeholders last weekend at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Formula 1 and the teams supported an extension to six Sprint events for the 2023 seasonwith the same format as in 2022.
While supporting the principle of an increased number of Sprint events, the FIA is still assessing the impact of this proposal on its trackside operations and staff, and will provide its comments to the Commission.
2026 power unit
The key objectives of the next generation Formula 1 power unit, due to be introduced from 2026, have been presented previously and focus on four key pillars:
- Keeping up the show: The 2026 power unit will perform similarly to current designs, using high-output, high-revving V6 internal combustion engines, and avoiding excessive performance differentiation to allow for better racing ability.
- Environmental Sustainability: The 2026 unit will include an increase in electrical power deployment by up to 50% and use 100% sustainable fuel.
- Financial Sustainability – Work is underway to define, consolidate and improve financial regulations regarding power units, with the goal being to reduce overall costs for competitors while preserving the state-of-the-art technological showcase that is at the core of the Formula one.
- Attractive to new power unit manufacturers: The regulations aim to make it possible and attractive for newcomers to join the sport at a competitive level.
As the development of the regulatory framework for the 2026 power unit continues, the FIA has set a number of key targets relating to performance parameters, sustainability and financial regulations to the Commission, which offered positive feedback for this framework not requires approval under the current governance structure.
Summary of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix by our Formula 1 editors.
Objectives related to the power unit will lead to simultaneous upgrades of the aerodynamic standards and therefore the FIA has set the following preliminary objectives following simulation work carried out by its aerodynamic department. These objectives were well received by the Commission:
- Drag significantly reduced to improve sustainability and efficiency and complement the characteristics of the power unit.
- Maintain and improve recent lessons learned about tight racing and cars that can track each other.
- reduce dimensions of the car.
- Reduce or contain weight of the single-seater.
- Sustainability: continue the path towards standardization or simplification of strategically selected components for cost reduction purposes. Expand the use of sustainable materials or technologies and focus on recyclability.
- Continue innovation in the field of car safetymoving towards active and connected security systems.
helmet cameras
Having tested the latest generation of helmet cameras at recent events, they have proven to be a huge success, generating significant positive feedback from fans as a valuable addition to the Grand Prix broadcast.
Therefore, it was proposed and unanimously approved to update the 2023 Technical Regulations, forcing the use of these helmet cameras for all pilots as of 2023.
Reduction in the use of tires
The Commission unanimously agreed to test a reduction in tire allocation from 13 sets to 11 in two events in the 2023 season. This will be done to assess the impact of the reduction in tire allocation on track operation, with the general intention of moving to more sustainable tire use in the future.
All these agreements must be approved by the World Motor Sports Council (WMSC).
Source:
FIA