FIA introduce new forbidden rule as F1 regulations get summer break makeover

The FIA has confirmed a number of changes that have been written into the rulebooks for the remainder of the 2024 championship.

Following meetings of the F1 Commission recently, the FIA has written into the rulebooks a number of changes that have received approval from the World Motor Sport Council to be ratified.

Changes made to the 2024 Sporting Regulations

Ahead of the major 2026 championship regulation changes, the FIA has outlined a tweaked rulebook to allow for the running of ‘mule’ cars and the rules under which these machines operate.

Mule cars are not a regular occurrence, given that they are usually existing cars which have been modified to run components or configurations for a completely different ruleset.

This will be particularly pertinent for getting ready for 2026 – given cars conforming to these regulations don’t yet exist, contemporary machinery from the current regulations are likely to be used for the first on-track running and for proof of concept.

The FIA has outlined its Testing of Mule Cars (TMC) in the Sporting Regulations, with Article 10.10 defining mule cars as being those designed and constructed to the current technical regulations or those of the previous four calendar years prior to the current calendar year, albeit suitably modified for providing the FIA with a means to test components or systems for future regulations.

Mule cars were last seen in use in 2021, with 2019 machines being altered to run the new 18-inch wheels ahead of F1’s move away from the old 13-inch wheels for the 2022 season.

A defined mule car can also be modified for the purpose of supplying Pirelli with a means of track testing its future tyres. A mule car must be limited to the minimal number of modifications required for these purposes, with the remainder of the newly-added regulations merely administrative – sharing its rules with existing programmes such as the Testing of Current Cars (TCC) or the Testing of Previous Cars (TPC).

An example of this includes provisions to ensure the mule cars only run with components and setups that have already been used at a Grand Prix, in order to ensure teams can’t use the outing for development purposes – exceptions to this can only be made by the FIA, and will only be permitted based on the new components being directly related to the new systems under evaluation.

1o days of mule car testing will be permitted between January 1st and December 31st, with drivers eligible to take part in these runs provided they are qualified for a full F1 super licence.

Other regulation changes include the tightening of wording relating to a car breakdown – rather than saying a car breaking down “on track” can’t continue in a session, the wording has changed to a car that breaks down “in any area other than the pitlane and receives physical assistance”.

The stewards have also been given the power to impose a grid penalty on a driver who has been unable to serve a penalty during a Grand Prix or Sprint – these apply to the more serious penalties of drive-throughs or 10-second stop/go penalties. If a driver can’t serve their penalties due to retirement, they can be given a grid penalty for their next race.

F1 cars are not permitted to enter the pitlane during a Safety Car period, unless it is for the purpose of changing tyres.

A particularly minor rule change is that drivers are now expected at the front of the grid for the National Anthem procedure 16 minutes ahead of the race, instead of 14.

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FIA confirms technical regulation update

An intriguing change made on the technical side has been to Article 11.1.2, related to braking systems.

“The brake system must be designed so that within each circuit, the forces applied to the brake pads are the same magnitude and act as opposing pairs on a given brake disc,” says the unchanged text before the new wording is confirmed with the following sentence: “Any system or mechanism which can produce systematically or intentionally, asymmetric braking torques for a given axle is forbidden.”

This tightening of the wording doesn’t suggest a team has already engaged such a system, but the governing body has spotted a potential loophole in the wording of the regulation.

This may have been due to an audit of its own rules, or could have been pointed out by a team that may have spotted a grey area in the regulations and sought clarification.

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