F1 driving guidelines won't change until 2025

Formula 1's controversial driving guidelines won't change until the 2025 seasonas he was able to reveal .

THE FIA committed to reviewing the document”Guidelines on Standards of Conduct“which supports the decisions of the stewards on the controversial maneuvers of the race after the accident of Max Verstappen with Lando Norris at the United States Grand Prix.

During the following round in Mexico, it was agreed with the drivers that and what scenarios create the current ones, and the highest body would present its conclusions to the drivers during the penultimate round of 2024, this weekend in Qatar.

After the meeting lasting more than an hour which took place late Thursday afternoon, the pilot of Mercedes and director of F1 Drivers Association, George Russellsuggested the only proposed change was to “a line in the rules that says the inside driver has to give room to the outside driver from the apex all the way to the exit” and added: “I think that this is going to be eliminated.”

At the same time, Russell said: “I hope it will be from this weekend.”

However, has learned that given the breadth of the ideas discussed on Thursday, the FIA ​​is continuing its evaluation of the guidelines to take into account the latest comments from drivers.

The proposal to clarify what What a driver attacking inside can do to give space to a rival on the outside Yes, this will be changed, but FIA sources indicate that further revisions to the regulations are also planned.

From the drivers' point of view, they mainly focus on how certain circuits – like the – They have huge asphalt escape zones which allow very aggressive tactics knowing that they can force given that if they leave, they do not lose much time.

This year, the FIA ​​has improved some of these problematic corners by placing small strips of gravel – which can be removed to help circuits which also host road races. like the – and a more widespread use of this system is now being studied.

At the same time, it remains possible that the lagoon within the guidelines that Verstappen exploited – lengthen braking when overtaking to ensure his wheels are forward at the apex, which – closes for the 2025 season.

The possibility of no changes being introduced before the end of the 2024 season was put on the table in Mexico, as the FIA ​​wanted driver collaboration and consensus.

But as there is only one round left before the end of the world championship, understands that it has been agreed that it is more prudent to implement the guideline changes for the start of the 2025 championship.

Gary ConnellyChairman of the F1 Stewards, highlighted the nature of the solidarity that existed at the Qatar meeting in an FIA statement provided to Motorsport.com.

It comes after Russell and Norris told Mexico that only Verstappen objected to the need to change the guidelines again, which the Dutchman strongly rejected this Thursday.

“As stewards, if drivers, teams and the FIA ​​agree that they want rules or guidelines that allow for more aggressive driving, we will enforce those rules or guidelines,” Connelly said.

“Similarly, if they want stricter rules of conduct, we will enforce them.”

“The rules of conduct are a living document, so every year, as F1 commissioners, we try to meet with drivers, sporting directors and FIA representatives, to see if we need to adjust the guidelines to use the experience of the last 12 months and see what improvements we can make to ensure consistency.

“The goal of the guidelines is consistency. Thursday afternoon's meeting here in Doha was the most productive we have attended.”

“The drivers have been fantastic with their input. Very constructive. There have been no negative comments. There have been no accusations.”

“It has been very inspiring to see the world's best drivers communicate clearly and speak constructively about how we can improve the rules of the road to benefit drivers and make life easier for us all.”

In a nod to the bitter speeches and tense atmosphere that followed the various Verstappen-Norris fights throughout the 2024 season, as well as remembering the toxic discussions on social media during the 2021 season , Connelly was also emotional as he reminded F1 fans that “as stewards, we are not here to make drivers suffer.”

“We are here to provide a level playing field,” he added. “It’s not us against the drivers, it’s the drivers against the drivers, and we’re here to make sure everyone has the same opportunities.”

“We have an open door policy. The door to the stewards' room is always open to any driver who wishes to come and talk to us about a decision that has been made, whether in relation to him or in relation to any other driver .

“We believe Thursday’s meeting emphasized this open-door policy.”

Connelly also outlined the brief history of the 'Guidelines on Driving Standards' document, which was first introduced at the request of drivers for the start of the 2022 season, and which has been the subject of a new editorial at the end of this season and in 2023.

“Until 2017, there were very few driving rules in the FIA ​​system,” explained the Australian.

“They existed mainly in one of the annexes of the International Sports Code. So it was very difficult for the stewards to enforce the regulations because they were very, very simple regulations.”

“Some of them date back to 1954, when the code was created, and haven't changed much since then.”

“Then at the end of 2018 the so-called ‘let them run’ approach was introduced, in which we took a more hands-off approach and tolerated more aggressive driving styles.”

Read also:

“However, this happened at the end of 2021, when the pilots were saying, 'look, we want to have a clearer understanding of what we can do and what we can't do.'

“Therefore, a very basic set of guidelines was introduced in early 2022.”

“Since then, we have had several meetings to discuss how the wording of these guidelines should be changed to make them more understandable and applicable.”

Concerning circuit modifications and the role of certain types of turns and track excursions in controversial driver movements, the FIA ​​single-seater sporting director, Tim Malyoncommented: “At the FIA ​​we are continually working with the circuits to evolve in different ways.”

“Obviously, we are continually working on the safety aspect of the circuits.”

“But what this meeting has highlighted is that there are a number of considerations from the sporting side, which we can prioritize for circuits in the future.”

“As we have done this year, we have introduced gravel flows, starting with Austria, and obviously this weekend in Qatar is perhaps the most obvious example with gravel flows added to different places on the track.

“We continue to work with the circuits on all issues, but it was very helpful in Thursday's meeting to get the drivers' perspective and see how they are prioritizing the concept of gravel runoff, no only for the limits of the track, but also for the management of certain situations that occurred during overtaking during the recent four or five races.

“Overall, there was a commitment to working together to find solutions that work for everyone.”