Meeting on Tuesday in Faenza, in the premises of the Visa Cash App RB team, the F1 Commission ruled out the idea of a sprint race reserved for rookies for 2024. However, this was not the only issue on the agenda of the day of this meeting, jointly chaired by Nikolas Tombazis, single-seater director at the FIA, and Stefano Domenicali, CEO of Formula 1.
The commission has in fact broadly addressed the future technical regulations which will come into force in 2026, both on the chassis and engine side. The teams repeated some of their concerns with the texts presented by the FIA last June, which then evolved thanks to the work of the FIA Technical Advisory Committee.
From this latest work and the discussions that followed, an agreement emerged to finally increase the level of aerodynamic performance of future single-seaters compared to what was initially planned.
“Following discussions at recent Technical Advisory Committee meetings, and ongoing discussions with Formula 1 teams, a number of amendments to the 2026 technical regulations in the areas of performance, aerodynamics and safety have been incorporated into the latest iteration of this regulation.”specifies the report of the F1 Commission.
“These involve an increase in the expected aerodynamic performance of the single-seaters following extensive collaboration between the teams and the FIA over recent months.”
Nine days of winter testing in 2026
The Aston Martin mule to test the future 2026 tires.
Photo by: Pirelli
The work also resulted in an agreement around the sporting and financial regulations for 2026, with a notable point being the number of test days which will be organized ahead of this season which will mark a turning point. The evolution of the regulations for power units and the arrival of new engine manufacturers such as Red Bull-Ford and Audi argued in favor of an increase in testing.
“The 2026 sporting regulations have been the subject of a significant overhaul, aimed at simplifying their structure”indicates the F1 Commission. “The 2026 pre-season testing schedule will include three three-day test sessions, taking into account the challenges that the new engine regulations entail. The 2026 financial regulations will be an evolution of the current framework. The objectives of the 2026 regulations are to propose a competitive balance between sporting fairness and financial viability.”
These decisions adopted within the F1 Commission will have to be ratified at the next FIA World Motor Sport Council, scheduled for October 17.
