Major F1 cost-saving changes approved by FIA

The FIA's World Motor Sport Council has approved major changes to the sporting, technical and financial regulations that will help to safeguard Formula 1 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

F1's ten teams had agreed to the radical package of cost-cutting measures in a vote last week, and the changes have now been officially ratified by the World Motor Sport Council as expected following an e-vote on Wednesday. 

Among the raft of financial rules aimed at reducing costs amid uncertainty caused by the ongoing coronavirus crisis, a budget cap of $145m will be introduced for 2021. 

That will be reduced by a further $5m to $140m for 2022 and lowered again to $135 for the 2023-2025 period. 

The rules package will also limit development with a freezing of a large list of components between 2020 and 2021, with a token system devised to permit a very limited number of modifications. 

The major regulation overhaul originally planned for 2021 has already been delayed until 2022, meaning teams will carry over their current chassis into next season. 

Further restrictions will see limitations introduced for power unit upgrades in 2020, while changes to simplify the floor ahead of the rear tyres will be introduced to moderate the increase of downforce between 2020 and 2021. This means a new tyre compound will not be needed next season, before F1 switches to 18-inch tyres in 2022. 

Minimum F1 car weight will also rise again from 746kg to 749kg, despite teams carrying over their 2020 chassis into 2021. 

New sporting rule measures will see a new sliding scale regulation for aerodynamic testing in 2021, with the teams that finish towards the bottom of the championship permitted more R&D time than the team which finishes in first position. 

Among the sporting regulation changes, there will be updates relating to tyre regulations to allow for tyre testing during Free Practice 2 should it be necessary for Pirelli to approve a new tyre specification and the extended use of tyres in the case of a wet Free Practice 1 session.