Formula One Plans Further Clampdown On Driver Aids In 2016

F1's governing body "is planning to tighten the rules on telemetry next season to limit the amount of remote assistance drivers can get from their data engineers," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. The FIA on Thursday "made available a directive concerning restrictions from 2016 on pit-to-driver communications and signalling during races."

In it, the FIA told teams that "methods to limit the telemetry channels sent in real-time from the car to the pits will be investigated."

The FIA last year "abandoned a plan to limit radio messages but indicated in the latest directive that the rules would be tightened next season." The FIA listed 31 pit-to-car messages that would be permitted, only six of them before the start of the race, and said that "anything not included was likely to be considered a breach of the sporting regulations."

The list "included details such as lap times, gaps to a competitor, warnings about traffic ahead, tire choices at the next pitstop, information about a rival's likely strategy and when to pit." Double world champion Fernando Alonso "welcomed the changes but doubted how much difference they would make." He said, "We are receiving some information now on the radio about tires, about fuel or other things on the car but we are perfectly aware of what is happening in the car." Reuters