Formula One officials have made a number of rule changes mid-season after pressure from top drivers including Max Verstappen and Lando Norris.
Drivers had complained that racing had become less about skill after a number of changes were brought in for this season, including engine ramifications around how much engine management is required during races.
Rules were changed in a bid to try and make races more competitive, but the decisions have led to complaints from drivers – perhaps most so four-time world champion Verstappen, who is ninth in the drivers standings after three races and claimed he has been considering retirement.
There has also been concern around how the new 50-50 electric-hybrid engines function, with British driver Ollie Bearman’s crash in Japan coming after warnings from drivers about high-speed incidents due to the way batteries harvest and use power.
Defending world champion Norris, meanwhile, said drivers would ‘fly over fences and do a lot of damage’ unless changes were made.
But that has now happened. The FIA said they would use the gap formed by the cancelled races in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to assess rulings, and, after a meeting involving the FIA, team principals and CEOs of power unit manufacturers, changes have been made.
Two of those changes come in qualifying. The amount of permitted recharge on a lap has now been reduced from 8MJ to 7MJ, which means drivers will have to spend less time recovering energy while they drive.
The amount of power that can be recovered on a lap when the driver is at full throttle but not charging the battery has also been increased to 350kW from 250kW.
During races, the maximum power of cars’ boost mode will be capped at 150kW or the existing deployment level in a bid to reduce sudden speed differentials between cars in different engine states.
Drivers will also be allowed to deploy the full 350kW when accelerating out of corners, but that number will be limited to 250kW elsewhere on the track. The number of events in which alternative lower energy limits could apply has also been increased from eight to 12 races.
An increase in the temperature of tyre blankets has also been granted, which looks at improving initial grip. Maximum levels of electrical deployment will also be reduced.
Elsewhere, rear light systems will be simplified for ‘clearer and more consistent visual cues to improve visibility and reaction time for following drivers in poor conditions.’ Maximum ERS deployment will also be reduced.
Finally, four changes are set to be trialled during race starts. They are a ‘low-power start detection system’ which will identify cars with unusually low acceleration, an automatic deployment of the MGU-K and a visual warning system and changes to restrictions of energy. A reset of the energy counter at the start of the formation lap before the start of the race has also been introduced.
The changes will come into play at the Miami Grand Prix, which is set for the weekend of May 3.
