The FIA have reportedly moved to close two major loopholes in their regulations ahead of the 2025 F1 season which benefitted Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton last season. Article 26.10 of F1’s sporting code has been altered to allow the F1 race director to order a driver to stop immediately if their car has sustained “significant and obvious damage to a structural component, or such significant failure or fault”, according to Autosport. It is also claimed Article 43.8 has been amended to state that “all cars starting from the pitlane able to do so must leave the pitlane and join the formation lap”.
Under the previous rules, cars were only permitted to leave their garage when the grid was forming and were not required to take part in the formation lap. Hamilton started from the pitlane after changing his power unit at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix in Baku. As a result, he wouldn’t have needed to do a formation lap and therefore kept his tyres fresher. The Briton had the advantage of starting on the hard tyre from the back, having not been required to do a formation lap, and made up 11 places to finish ninth and score two points for the team. But Article 43.8 of F1’s sporting rules has been changed, meaning pitlane starters must join the formation lap before re-entering the pits to prepare to start the race.
This rule eliminates two other loopholes, whereby drivers in wet races could quickly change their tyres before the race while others were out on track doing their formation. Also, it eradicates the advantage gained from an aborted start, where an extra lap of fuel could be saved to use as a higher fuel mix in the race.
Additionally, the FIA have empowered race director Rui Marques to force drivers to stop their car on track to avoid leaving debris on the track and increasing the risk of punctures for other drivers. The report cites FIA sources who claim that no specific race incident has been used as evidence. However, Red Bull and Verstappen were clear beneficiaries under the previous rules when Sergio Perez crashed during the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix.
The Mexican sustained damage after switching to slick tyres and returned to the pitlane with a broken rear wing. As he trundled back to the pits, Perez’s car littered debris all over the track.
It was the view of the stewards in Montreal that Perez headed back into the pits to avoid triggering a safety car, which could have disrupted Verstappen’s race when he was leading out front. Perez was consequently handed a three-place grid penalty, while the Austrian team were fined £20,650 for the offence as they had confirmed his decision.
Now, instead of waving a black and white flag with an orange emblem, Marques will be able to communicate an instruction to stop the car using Article 26.10.
It remains to be seen whether the Portuguese official will speak with teams directly on the radio or merely send out a communication via the FIA.
