Writing Formula One‘s rule book is a thankless task. On the one hand, you have the objectives of 10 warring teams, six image-conscious engine manufacturers and tens of millions of fans; and on the other, you have the laws of physics.
Balancing it all is like spinning plates. Spread across a concert hall. With the lights turned off.
Can you make the new cars more road relevant by increasing electrification of the power unit?
No problem.
And make sure the racing is even better than before?
Yes, but …
While ensuring the cars go even faster?
Erm, hang on …
And make sure all ten teams are evenly matched?
Hold on a minute!
F1’s governing body, the FIA, is the organisation challenged with doing all of the above in time for the 2026 season. Historically, the FIA has managed its workload by focusing on either the engine regulations or chassis regulations for any one year, but for 2026 it is doing both with a pair of rule books that are inseparably intertwined.
Due to the long lead time required for engine development, the regulations surrounding the power units were signed off midway through 2022. With little more than 18 months to go until the start of 2026, though, the chassis and aerodynamic regulations are only now approaching their deadline for publication.
The main author of the new regulations is FIA director of single seaters Nikolas Tombazis, who has dubbed the governing body’s latest creation “a moderate revolution.”
The still-evolving draft of the chassis and aerodynamic regulations is set to be approved by FIA’s World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) on June 28, but could change past that date with approval from the F1 Commission (i.e. an agreement between a majority of teams). The hardest deadline is Jan. 1, 2025, by which point the rules need to be in a workable state to allow teams to start their aerodynamic research.
“We’re not in the final set of regulations yet,” Tombazis told media in Canada. “We do have quite a few things that we need to define and discuss with the teams.
“We are fully conscious of some of the concerns … And these are things that we class as the refinements that still need to take place. So between, let’s say, the end of the month, when these regulations will hopefully be published, and the start of 2025, when teams can start aerodynamic development, we do expect a reasonable amount of…
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