Ben Sulayem absent from meeting as F1 rule tweaks confirmed for 2023
Ahead of the new season, Ben Sulayem announced he would be stepping back from the day-to-day running of F1 following several recent controversies.
The latest F1 Commission meeting was chaired on Tuesday by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and newly-appointed FIA single-seater director Nikolas Tombazis, who has taken over hands-on matters from Ben Sulayem.
Several regulatory changes were agreed - subject to approval by the World Motor Sport Council - for the upcoming campaign.
A new wet weather tyre that does not require a tyre blanket will be made available from the fourth race of the season, the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
Teams will be granted greater scope to change components that are “prone to getting damaged” during the parc ferme period on sprint race weekends.
Radio messages between teams and drivers have been relaxed “at all times”.
Minor amendments were also made to the 2023 sporting, technical and financial regulations, including the introduction of a winter shutdown period for competitors and PU manufacturers.
The wording in the sporting regulations has been updated to prevent a repeat of the confusion surrounding the points system and Max Verstappen’s title coronation in the aftermath of last year’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Additionally, wording to allow easier access to the factories for the FIA auditing team “in order to police the adherence of the teams and PU manufacturers to the financial regulations, and to the Operational limitations of the technical and Sporting Regulations” has been introduced.
Meanwhile, an increase of the cost cap adjustment for additional races above 21 was agreed from $1.2m to $1.8m per race.
Several changes to five circuits have also been outlined for the 2023 season:
- Significant changes to the Jeddah street circuit in Saudi Arabia to improve visibility on corner entry wherever possible
- The Azerbaijan and Miami circuits will be completely resurfaced
- Space between the pit stop positions has increased by 1.5m in Zandvoort
- A new pit building and paddock infrastructure will be built in Qatar
Lewis regularly attends Grands Prix for Crash.net around the world. Often reporting on the action from the ground, Lewis tells the stories of the people who matter in the sport.
