New F1 2024 changes approved following latest World Motor Sport Council meeting

Thomas Maher
Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc battle into Turn 1 at the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc and Red Bull's Max Verstappen duel.

The FIA’s World Motor Sport Council has signed through some various changes to the rulebooks for the F1 2024 season.

Away from the political battleground the FIA has ignited by opening an investigation into whether confidential information was passed between a FOM employee and a team boss, the governing body carried out some more mundane administrative work on Wednesday.

A meeting of the World Motor Sport Council (WMSC) convened in Baku, chaired by FIA Deputy President for Sport Robert Reid, in order to sign off on decisions that were recently approved by the F1 Commission during the Abu Dhabi GP weekend.

What changes have been signed through by the FIA’s WMSC?

The following changes have been made to the FIA’s Regulations for 2024.

In the Technical Regulations, a provision has been made to allow for a ‘cooling scoop’ to be added to the F1 cars when extremely hot weather conditions are declared – this provision being made off the back of the controversial Qatar Grand Prix.

A limit has been placed on the number and mass of certain metallic components in the floors of the F1 cars, due to them being identified as a safety risk when dislodged from a car.

The length of the assembly of the pre-race grid has been reduced back to 40 minutes, having been increased to 50 – restoring how it was prior to the trial of pre-race driver presentation elements.

For cars starting from the pitlane, it will now be mandatory to remove all personnel and equipment from the fast lane of the pits 90 seconds after the start of the formation lap. The FIA noted there are currently no regulations in place to govern the procedure surrounding the removal of personnel and equipment when a car starts from the pits.

The FIA also say minor updates to the 2026 Power Unit Sporting, Technical, and Financial Regulations have been approved.

However, none of the updated rulebooks have yet been published by the governing body to establish how each of the rule changes has been defined in the eyes of the FIA.

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