The F1 Commission met in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to discuss a number of potential changes for F1 going forward, with the meeting including officials from the commercial rights holder, the FIA and all 10 teams.
One of the issues that was discussed was the possible introduction of tougher penalties for motor units in an attempt to stop tactical changes.
Under the current system, drivers have a limited number of each power unit element they can use throughout the season, with failure to meet the limit resulting in a grid penalty.
The first violation of the season limit for each item results in a 10-seat grid penalty, but any additional games only result in a five-seat grid drop. Limits were introduced to try to encourage teams to be more sustainable and ration power unit items in the future.
It has therefore become common for teams to opt for tactical power unit changes, taking the brand new power unit all at once to trigger a back-of-the-grid penalty and then only getting five place penalties. afterwards.
But that could change for the future after the F1 Commission discussed updating the system, agreeing that tougher penalties should be introduced in future.
“It was agreed that the current system is not a sufficient deterrent for teams to make strategic power unit changes, and encourages the change of more items than necessary once a driver has accumulated more than a certain level of penalty,” read a statement. press release issued by the FIA and F1 following the Abu Dhabi meeting.
“This ultimately results in higher parts costs and undermines the annual power unit element restrictions.”
Photo by: Giorgio Piola
Only five drivers – Daniel Ricciardo, Lance Stroll, Sebastian Vettel, Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi – stayed within the three-engine limit for the season, while seven drivers go up to six engines.
The matter is expected to be further discussed by the Sport and Power Unit Advisory Committees, who will complete analysis of potential changes before any rule proposals are presented.
Another update from the F1 Commission meeting concerns tire covers, which were originally due to be banned in 2024 following a reduction in cover temperature for next year.
But testing in Austin and Mexico with the revised blanket temperatures drew backlash from drivers and teams, who raised concerns about putting the cars on cold tires.
Following this weekend, the F1 Commission said it had “decided to postpone any final decision until July 2023, allowing further data collection and feedback on testing to fully inform the findings”.
