Explained: What is ‘parc fermé’ and how does the FIA enforce it?

During an F1 grand prix weekend, every car enters a time period or condition known as ‘parc fermé’ – what exactly does this refer to?

Newer fans of F1 may hear their favourite commentators referring to cars being put into ‘parc fermé’, or of drivers being penalties for ‘parc fermé breaches’, so let’s do some digging and figure out what it means.

What is Parc fermé?

Parc fermé, yet another French expression to have become irrevocably associated with motor racing over the last century, translates to “closed park.”

Put in its most simple terms, parc fermé refers to a time period in which teams are expressly told what they can or can’t do to their cars.

While free practice sessions allow the teams to alter their car’s configurations, bolt on new parts, and try out new setup ideas, the rules are reasonably relaxed – the requirements regarding the cars are that they are run in safe condition, conform to the technical regulations, and use components from within their permitted allowances.

But there are times during a grand prix weekend when the teams are not allowed make any alterations whatsoever outside of certain minor tweaks and maintenance duties – the car is put into a frozen specification and configuration and the teams are not permitted to make any further modifications.

“Parc fermé is a concept that exists in a huge range of motorsport disciplines, though it may take different forms,” F1 Technical Delegate Manuel Leal told the FIA website.

“In WRC, for example, or in Rally Raid, it is a physical ‘corral’ in which the cars are held, but in F1 it’s both a physical space – you see that at the end of sessions when the cars are parked in a designated area and in the pit lane – and a virtual one, if you like, where the cars are returned to the teams but only certain work is allowed to be performed.

“Essentially, the rules prevent teams from making changes to their cars between Qualifying and the Race. The regulations are intended to ensure a level playing field for all teams by limiting their ability to make modifications, and also for cost reasons so that teams cannot create bespoke cars for Qualifying.”

When does parc fermé apply to the F1 cars?

The regulations for parc fermé are outlined within Article 40 of the FIA’s Sporting Regulations, which define when each car is deemed to be under parc fermé regulations.

The Article rules that “each car will be deemed to be in parc fermé from the time at which it leaves the pit lane for the first time during the Qualifying session until the start of the race.”

And don’t think that you can pull a fast one by simply not taking part in qualifying and then making all the changes you want for the race either – the rules state that any car that fails to leave the pits during qualifying is also put into parc fermé at the end of Q1″.

The rules also outline the parc fermé conditions for a Sprint format weekend, which we’ll get to shortly…

Parc ferme regulations during a Grand Prix weekend:

• FP1 – No parc fermé
• FP2 – No parc fermé
• FP3 – No parc fermé
• Qualifying – Parc fermé conditions apply from the time a car leaves the pitlane in Q1, or, if unable to participate, from the end of Q1.
• Race – Parc fermé conditions, the cars must race in the same configurations and specifications as in qualifying.

What changes can F1 teams make to their cars under parc fermé?

Once parc fermé conditions are applied to a car, the team is not permitted to make any further setup or component changes.

What is allowed is related to maintenance and safety – fluids can be topped up, brake friction materials can be refreshed or the brakes themselves deglazed, and inspections for damage or weaknesses can be carried out.

If damage is identified, teams can carry out repairs such as patching, bonding, or fixings. If this is impossible and replacement parts are needed, the rules allow for a change of part for one of identical design and specification – no sneaky upgrades will be accepted here!

Other changes permitted related to driver comfort, such as adjusting the seat, mirror, pedals, or the cockpit cushion padding, while a declaration of a change in weather conditions can also allow for some minor changes such as power unit and gearbox cooling bodywork, settings related to valves and restrictors related to cooling, and the covering/uncovering of pitot tubes.

All parts related to onboard cameras, timing transponders, and marshaling system components can also be checked and refitted/replaced.

Put simply, anything that could have an effect on the performance of the car beyond what it’s capable of in the intact condition of its current setup is not permitted – the FIA only allows tweaks to be made to the front wing flap angle.

“The teams need to declare a set-up sheet for each car before qualifying,” explained Leal.

“That details cambers, toes, corner weights, and so on. So, for example, if they crash and need to put the car back together, we will go down and check that they are only repairing the crash damage and not changing the setup.

“We need to see the same cambers, the same toe and we will want to do a set-up check. And if something needs to be replaced, say a potentiometer on a suspension has failed, we need to see evidence of the failure, and if it’s related to a critical performance point, such as weight distribution, ballast, suspension set-up, or aero – bar the front wing flap – then you will have an FIA person checking that it’s the same.

“We have that physical space after a session, where cars are weighed and so forth, and the virtual space, when cars are returned to the team.

When that happens, we have 20 scrutineers monitoring every single operation that is being done to the car and writing that down for us to check later.

“Also, at the beginning of the season, teams have to submit a list of operations they will normally conduct in parc fermé within the regulations, and we approve them or not.

“Each car is different so they might say that for them to check the combustion chamber, they need to remove the spark plugs and for removing the spark plugs, they need to remove something else. This list is given to the scrutineers, so they can follow what’s going on.”

On top of the standard monitoring and scrutineering, at least three cars are selected for further, more intensive, checks following qualifying. When a team is told a car is selected for these checks, the team cannot take the car out from parc fermé until these checks are done.

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How does the FIA monitor the cars under parc fermé

Each car is closely monitored by an FIA scrutineer for the entirety of its time under parc fermé, while FIA technical staff can also drop in unannounced for checks. Any parts taken off the car under parc fermé are retained by the FIA for comparison… just in case.

Of course, if a team does need to make any changes which are not permitted under the rules, they must apply in writing to the Technical Delegate Jo Bauer, who will evaluate the request to see whether there are any grounds for the request to be made without penalty. Usually, there isn’t, meaning a chance will simply trigger a breach of parc fermé rules if the changes are made, and the affected driver will be forced to start from the pitlane.

“In addition, we have an overhead camera above each car that is monitored and recorded,” Leal explained.

“Essentially, it’s similar to the CCTV any security firm might run. We monitor in real-time, there are people watching constantly, and we can view anything that happens to that car.”

All operations conducted by a team must be completed within two hours of the end of Qualifying, and then all cars must be covered and ready for FIA seals to be applied in order to ensure that they remain secure until the following day.

The seals applied to the cars are tamper-proof, making it easy to spot if a team has attempted to change something.

“Engines and gearboxes are, of course, sealed,” Leal said.

“But we have the right to apply seals to whatever part we wish to keep track of. So if there is something we are concerned about that is critical and difficult to see live, even with the cameras, then we will add a seal.

“As a minimum, it’s gearboxes, power units, energy recovery systems, bodywork panels, the driver’s seat, but we can place seals wherever necessary. I think over the course of the season we order anything up to 40,000 seals, so that gives an indication of how stringent our checks are.”

The covers over the cars are removed five hours before the scheduled start of the formation lap, while the seals remain in place and the cars under parc fermé conditions until the final preparations immediately prior to the race.

What happens should a team breach parc fermé regulations?

If a team knows that they have to make changes to its car which will breach parc fermé regulations – for instance, perhaps a crash has destroyed a new component and there isn’t another identical specification available – they must make a request of the Technical Delegate.

It’s also possible for a team to simply take the hit – if their setup is so far out of what’s desired, they can make the alterations they want and simply start from the pitlane.

“They have three hours post-qualifying to make requests,” Leal explained.

“If they decide that their set-up is not effective, they wish to change the spec of the car, or they have any other reason to start from the pit lane they will declare that.

“Technical Delegate Jo Bauer makes a report with the parts that have been replaced, in the case of failure or damage, and then another report of parc fermé issues, which will detail what the team did. All of this is made available to everyone so there is complete clarity.”

Highlighting the rigorousness of parc fermé, the FIA’s technical team will scour through the garages once again on race day as the covers are removed from the cars in order to ensure they are the same specification for the race as they were in qualifying and that the setups remain identical.

“FIA personnel typically do set-up and parts spec checks on Sunday morning, just to make sure that there is nothing a scrutineer has missed, which, to be honest, is rare,” he said.

“But it’s just a further level of vigilance for us to make sure that teams have stuck to the regulations, that we have a level playing field, and that, unless there is a compelling reason, we go into the race with cars in the condition they qualified.”

How does parc fermé apply during a Sprint weekend?

Sprint format weekends caused quite a bit of bother for the teams up until the end of F1 2023.

This was because the regulations forced parc fermé conditions upon the teams when the cars departed the pitlane for the first part of Sprint Qualifying (or, as above, at the end of SQ1 if unable to take part).

This meant the teams were locked into their setups for the entirety of the weekend – right through Sprint Qualifying and the Sprint Race, before being stuck with the same setup again for regular qualifying and the race.

However, common sense prevailed for F1 2024 and the parc fermé intervals were changed. While parc fermé still kicks in at the start of SQ1, the teams are permitted to make changes as they see fit between the conclusion of the Sprint Race and the usual imposition of the regulations at the start of regular qualifying.

Parc ferme regulations during a Sprint Grand Prix weekend:

• FP1 – No parc fermé
• Sprint Qualifying – Parc fermé conditions apply from the time a car leaves the pitlane in SQ1, or, if unable to participate, from the end of SQ1.
• Sprint Race – Parc fermé conditions, the cars must race in the same configurations and specifications as in  Sprint Qualifying.
• Qualifying – Renewed Parc fermé conditions apply from the time a car leaves the pitlane in Q1, or, if unable to participate, from the end of Q1.
• Race – Parc fermé conditions, the cars must race in the same configurations and specifications as in qualifying.

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