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The FIA has provincially approved a plan to hold six sprint races in 2023, following the F1 Commission meeting held on Tuesday in London. The meeting involved the motorsports governing body, teams, and F1, and was presided over by FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The event was held to discuss various issues, including the future of Sprint races and the upcoming power unit regulations.
In a statement published after the conclusion of the meeting, the FIA said:
“With the first of three Sprint events of the 2022 season popular with fans and stakeholders last weekend at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, Formula 1 and the teams were supportive of an extension to six Sprint events for the 2023 season, running with the same format as in 2022.”
While the FIA has provisionally approved the decision to increase the number of Sprint races for 2023 and onwards, it still wants to consider all aspects of its impact on the sport as well as teams before giving its full approval. In the aforementioned statement, the FIA added, stating:
“While supporting the principle of an increased number of Sprint events, the FIA is still evaluating the impact of this proposal on its trackside operations and personnel and will provide its feedback to the Commission.”
First introduced in the 2021 season, the Sprint races have so far drawn mixed reactions from teams, drivers, and fans alike.
F1 commits to aero goals to supplement 2026 PU regulations
Another important issue that was discussed at the F1 commission meeting was the 2026 Power Unit (PU) regulations.
Following the approval of the initial draft of the new regulations in November 2021, the FIA has proposed an update to the aerodynamic regulations for 2026 to supplement the new PU regulations.
The governing body wants to improve the 2022 aero regulations even further to improve efficiency. Based on limited simulations, it has set the following preliminary targets for the updated aero regulations:
1. Significantly reduced drag to improve sustainability and efficiency and complement the power unit characteristics.
2. Maintain and improve on recent lessons learned about close racing and cars being able to follow each other.
3. Reduce car dimensions.
4. Reduce or contain car mass.
5. Sustainability: continue path towards the standardisation or simplification of strategically selected components for cost-cutting purposes. Expand the usage of sustainable materials or technologies and focus on recyclability.
6. Continued innovation in terms of car safety, moving towards active and connected safety systems.
The 2026 PU regulations retain the current generation of 1.6-liter V6 Internal Combustion Engines (ICEs) while simplifying and increasing the capacity of energy recovery systems. New PUs are also required to run on 100 percent sustainable fuel.
