FIA announces DRS changes for five F1 tracks in 2023

Following the first year of the new generation of cars, it was widely accepted that at some venues DRS passes had been too easy, while at others the zones were too short.

Having looked closely at the data of last season, the FIA has now revealed that tweaks will be made at the Bahrain, Jeddah, Melbourne, Baku and Miami circuits to better balance things out.

Although there has been no confirmation of exactly what revisions are being made at each track, Melbourne is to get a fourth DRS zone to help close cars up.

As well as DRS zones being tweaked, the FIA has confirmed that resurfacing work is being carried out in Baku and Miami, with Jeddah pushing on with circuit tweaks to improve visibility.

During a meeting of the F1 Commission in London on Tuesday to discuss a number of matters, it was also agreed that there will be a relaxation of rules regarding what radio messages can be sent between drivers and teams from now on.

There had been a clampdown on this several years ago to stop teams from coaching drivers too much.

Changes are also to be made to how parc ferme is organised on sprint race weekends. Teams will have more freedom to change parts that can frequently get damaged, and there will be a greater use made of self-declared forms from the teams as a means of better policing themselves.

Revisions to the wording of regulations regarding the distribution of points for shortened races, which caused controversy at last year’s Japanese Grand Prix, have also been improved.

The tweaks will ensure that full points are only awarded for races that go near full distance, whereas limited points will be distributed if races are cut short or cannot run to their full distance because of interruptions.

It has also been agreed that a winter shutdown will be implemented for both teams and power unit manufacturers.

The cost cap has also been raised from $1.2 million to $1.8 million for each grand prix over the 21 race limit laid down in the rules. This was done because the extra events have usually been flyaways which are more expensive than races in Europe.