FIA introduce radical update to the right to review process
The FIA right to review was used by four different teams in 2023 in different instances, inciting the FIA to make changes to the regulation.
FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali
The FIA is shaking things up in terms of post-race reviews, urging teams to reconsider their stance on pursuing reviews with a tightened submission window and the introduction of a fee.
Across all FIA-sanctioned racing series, most significantly, with notable cases in 2023 involving Aston Martin in Saudi Arabia, Ferrari in Australia, McLaren in Austria, and Haas in the USA.
Abandoning the previous 14-day timeframe, teams now face a condensed 96-hour window post-competition to file a review request. Stewards, however, retain the authority to extend this deadline by up to 24 hours if circumstances require them to.
The most noteworthy change comes in the form of an upfront fee associated with the right of review petition. If the review proves unsuccessful however, the concerned team will not be required to pay the fee.
FIA wants to inspect F1 factories without notice
The intricacies of Formula One regulations have grown more complicated in recent years, even more so concerning the teams’ activities within the factories itself. From constraints on wind tunnel and CFD testing to limits on shared information among collaborating teams, aspects of the cost cap, and guidelines on the utilization of external staff, compliance is now a constant demand.
To ensure compliance to these regulations, the FIA has the authority to conduct visits to team factories for inspections. In the past, these visits were preceded by ample notice to competitors, a practice that poses challenges for them as teams may attempt to circumvent regulations. FIA single-seater racing head Nikola Tombazis wants this to change with inspections without any notice.
We don't think we should be just entering the door and going in, but we do think it would be right to have a process in place where we can just phone them, and somebody comes out and picks up these people and they can say: ‘I want to go and see the wind tunnel or whatever.Nikola Tombazis said, as reported by motorsport.com
The FIA has some concerns regarding the teams’ activities, especially with inter-team relations with sister outfits such as Red Bull and AlphaTauri. The FIA has their eye on the two teams, wanting to ensure that there is no illegal sharing of information to assist in car development in either team involved.
In case you missed it:
- Fred Vasseur claims he talks to Lewis Hamilton ‘every other week’
- Carlos Sainz lists the drivers whose onboard camera racing footage he uses as reference
Riddhi Mondal
(1821 Articles Published)