Posted on 18th February 2015
F1 rule changes for 2016 rejected
It has been announced this morning that plans for a F1 rule 'revolution' starting in 2016 has been delayed until at least 2017 after the teams voted against introducing the rules into the sport as early as 2016.
At a meeting of the F1 Commission in Geneva yesterday, the teams voted no against the overhaul of car regulations such as cars being wider, bigger tyres and revision of the existing bodywork.
Even though it remains unclear as it how the teams voted, it has been suggested that a 'divided opinion' was amongst the teams and contributed to the result of the vote yesterday. You could say that some teams such as Ferrari who released images yesterday of a concept F1 car of the future wanted the challenges to take place; whereas other teams wanted to wait a bit longer.
It has been rumoured in the paddock that there was an agreement amongst the teams to spend more time going through viable proposals for 2017 rather than rushing to agree to get something in place for next season. The failure of the F1 commission to agree on rule changes at the Geneva meeting yesterday means there is now almost no hope of them happening before 2017.
That is because Tuesday’s meeting was viewed as the last chance for any rule tweaks to be introduced with majority support. Under new F1 regulations introduced this year is that after March 1st, any alterations to next year’s regulations requires unanimous support from the teams which is something that is highly unlikely to be found in my opinion to everyone's benefit.
The most likely path now is for teams to try to come up with regulations this year that can be approved in time to be added to the 2017 rulebook. But all you can say on the current situation at hand is that they have made the right decision for now by delaying the changes and taking the time to ensure that viable and suitable changes are made that will benefit the sport and will not hinder what it has achieved in the past, in the present, but most importantly; the future.
At the moment, Formula One finds itself in a situation that it needs to listen to the fans and what they want and try to listen to their concerns while making it more accessible in the process like just other series of motorsport such as WEC who engage with fans on a regular basis.
Alongside this, Formula One needs to make changes in order to sustain its future and also show why it is the fastest motorsport in the world in regards to the technology used amongst other things. In my opinion, all we can do now is hope that the FIA, FOM and the teams research every single viable solution that could made possible for the 2017 season that will not affect the sport or the racing which is what brings fans to watching and following the sport in the first place. As without them; where would Formula One be?
FIA Rule on Helmet design changes
It has been announced this afternoon that Formula 1 drivers will be banned from changing helmet designs in-season under new rules set to be introduced this year.
As part of a push to improve the promotional appeal of the sport, F1 chiefs have grown concerned that fans are turned off by drivers constantly changing their helmet colours.
Unlike the days of Ayrton Senna when a drivers’ iconic helmet design was part of his appeal, these days some drivers change their colours at every race. One of the most extreme examples is four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel, who has used around 60 different helmet designs over the course of his career to date.
Just like a rule introduced last year that has forced drivers to keep the same car number for their career in a bid to make it better for marketing, F1 will now force drivers to not change helmet designs as much.
It has been revealed that the teams, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone have agreed to limit drivers to just one helmet design for the season. This was approved at a meeting of the F1 commission in Geneva this week and is set to be ratified by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council for introduction this season. The hope is that fans will be able to identify with drivers more easily both at the track and on television.
With regards to this situation, I understand why the FIA and the teams have agreed to this decision, but I feel that it is a stupid decision especially when there are other concerns involving the sport at the moment such as rising costs.
In effect with drivers such as Vettel changing their designs throughout the course of the season, we don't know for it's to do with Vettel himself personally wanting to express his personality through his helmet designs or it is to do with personal sponsors.
But whatever the reason is; I do believe that drivers should be allowed to express their originality in regards to their helmet design and I believe that they should be allowed to change their designs of their helmets as we get a third into the season. This would then allow drivers to change their designs three times a year and I believe that this would be better than just banning it completely.
But once again the FIA have made a ridiculous and pointless decision regarding this issue and I believe that the time could have been better spent on sorting out other issues in the sport such as rising costs and the rule changes that could be implemented by 2017.
Do I feel that this decision could be reversed? I hope that it does; but I believe this is another rule just like Double points that is unnecessary and uncalled for and could potential deny Formula One another marketing and advertising opportunity that could help them expand into new markets; at a time when it could benefit from it and also could help it attract new audiences in order to secure its future as the fastest motorsport in the world.
