FIA announces major F1 sporting regulation changes for 2026

The FIA has approved a series of changes to Formula 1's sporting regulations, with several key adjustments set to take effect from the 2026 season. The updates, ratified by the World Motor Sport Council, address practical issues from recent seasons and prepare for the sport's next technical era.

Why it matters:

These regulatory tweaks are designed to enhance the competition's fairness and operational smoothness, particularly on the increasingly common Sprint weekends. By formalizing procedures and adjusting to new realities, the FIA aims to reduce ambiguity and ensure teams have adequate preparation time, which is crucial for the competitive integrity of the sport.

The details:

• Sprint Weekend Practice: A significant change allows for the extension of the single Free Practice 1 session on a Sprint weekend if it is interrupted by a red flag. This ensures teams receive meaningful setup time before the competitive Sprint sessions begin.
• Pre-Season Testing: From the 2027 season onwards, Formula 1 will move to just a single pre-season test, consolidating the limited track time teams have to prepare their new cars.
• Sprint Qualifying Tyres: The rule limiting tyre sets during Sprint Qualifying will no longer be waived if a session is declared wet. Teams must now manage their allocated sets regardless of conditions.
• 2026 Car Preparation: Specifications for out-of-competition tyre testing have been amended to accommodate the new generation of cars arriving in 2026.
• Team Personnel: The operational personnel limit for each team at the track will increase to 60 members for the 2026 season.
• Race Procedures: Race suspension and restart protocols have been simplified for greater clarity.
• Technical Alignment: Updates to the Driver Adjustable Bodywork (DAS) rules ensure they are congruent with the overarching technical regulations.

The big picture:

Beyond the specific rule changes, the FIA has restructured the entire regulatory framework. A new 'Section A: General Regulatory Provisions' has been created, bringing the total number of chapters to six. This reorganization aims to create consistency across all other sections—Sporting, Technical, Financial (for teams and power unit manufacturers), and Operational regulations—to eliminate duplications and contradictions.

What's next:

These changes lay the groundwork for the 2026 season and beyond, providing teams with clearer guidelines as they develop their next-generation cars. The focus on Sprint weekend logistics and testing reduction reflects the sport's evolving format and commercial pressures, setting the stage for how teams will operate in the coming years.