FIA F1 News: World Motor Sport Council axes fast lap point, and more
Minor changes for 2024 and 2025 Formula 1 Sporting and Technical regulations were approved by the World Motor Sport Council today (Thursday), including the removal of the point awarded for setting the fastest lap and the increase in the requirement for fielding a young driver during free practice from once per season to two times per season.
The fastest lap bonus point is to be dropped from the 2025 season. The council convened on Thursday with minor changes to the existing Sporting and Technical regulations being approved, as well as a restructuring of the 2026 ruleset.
A significant update for the regulations set to govern the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship and beyond was presented during the World Council. This includes a reorganization of the way the regulations are laid out, which will be divided into thematic sections for clarity and consistency. The transition to the new structure will be concluded in the next few months.
The 2026 Technical Regulations (Section C), originally approved in June 2024, were subject to extensive enhancements to the aerodynamic regulations, which have been the subject of a strong collaboration between the FIA, FOM and the Formula 1 teams. This will see a higher performance from the cars, while maintaining management of the wake characteristics to promote close and exciting racing.
The 2026 Sporting Regulations (Section B) have undergone a significant update in order to simplify and modernize their structure. They have introduced measures to regulate the energy management of the Power Units as well as the management of the adjustable aerodynamics, which will involve the deployment of the “straight-line mode” (low drag) and the “cornering mode” (high downforce). In addition, there will be three pre-season tests of three days each for the 2026 season to account for the new power units that will be adopted.
The 2026 Financial Regulations (Section D) have built on the experience gained by the FIA, Formula 1 and the teams since the first introduction of Financial Regulations in 2021. Significant effort has been made to simplify the regulations by changes in the perimeter of exclusions and adjustment methodologies and to strengthen measures available to FIA to monitor compliance to the Financial Regulations. The overall level of the cost cap has remained – in effect – equivalent to the current levels, while the changes to the actual number reflect the changes to exclusion and adjustment perimeter and the effect of cumulative inflation.
Further elements will be submitted to the World Council for approval in the coming months to complete the regulation package for 2026, while refinements to the already approved sections will continue with the collaboration between the FIA, FOM and the Formula 1 teams.
FIA World Rally Championship
In the WRC sporting regulations, the option of a Remote Service Zone (RSZ) has been introduced as an alternative to the Remote Tyre Fitting Zone (TFZ), providing WRC organizers with greater flexibility in planning the itinerary, helping to reduce road section distances or reach special stages that would otherwise be out of range.
It also allows competitors and teams to carry out repairs or adjustments when there is no return to the rally base at midday, hence helping to keep cars in the competition. Three team members per crew are permitted to transport designated tools and spare parts to the RSZ and perform work alongside the crew within the zone.
FIA World Endurance Championship
Sporting and Technical regulations for the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship season have been approved.
In order to enhance the fan experience, leader lights will be replaced with multicolor LED display panels fitted on each side of the cars, offering wide viewing angles and capable of displaying a range of information.
The homologation period for the Hypercar class cars has been extended by two years and will lapse until the end of the 2029 season.
The lifespan of the LMP2 cars has also been extended, and their homologation will lapse until the end of 2027. Following the suspension of the LMP2 class from full-time FIA WEC competition at the beginning of 2024, these cars continue to have presence in the European Le Mans Series, Asian Le Mans Series and IMSA SportsCar Championship, remaining an important part of the endurance racing ecosystem.
Any driver having driven less than 45 minutes in total during a race will not score FIA WEC championship points – this is a reduction from the previous limit of 60 minutes. Additionally, each Hypercar manufacturer must nominate two cars to score points in the World Championship.
ABB FIA Formula E World Championship
World Council Members have validated the Sporting and Technical Regulations for the upcoming 2024-2025, with updates mostly aimed at allowing the use of four-wheel drive on the GEN3 Evo car in specific scenarios such as qualifying duels, race start and Attack Mode.
It also includes an update on Manufacturer’s eligibility for the newly created FIA World Championship title for Manufacturers as well as the introduction of a tire parc fermé overnight on events. Lastly, updates and adjustments to the Financial Regulations for Teams and Manufacturers have also been made.
The 2024/25 calendar was approved as follows, but a two-month gap now exists on the calendar, which will be filled by an unannounced event for fans:
FIA World Rallycross Championship
The 2025 FIA World Rallycross Championship Calendar is approved as follows:
FIA World Rally-Raid Championship
The World Council approved updates to the W2RC sporting regulations, and the criteria defining the start order of Leg 1 have been amended to discourage tactics during the Prologue and increase interest in the start order selection process. Adjustments have also been made to the start order of subsequent stages to better account for the Challenger and SSV competitions.
A new set of rules has been implemented to better control assistance between competing crews, in particular to ensure that race service trucks complete the entire selective section if they need to assist others, without shortening large parts of the itinerary.
With regard to championship points, the World Council approved an update to allocate two points to all registered competitors classified beyond 15th position, and one point to all registered competitors who are not classified in a Rally-Raid event (four points and two points respectively for Marathon Rally-Raids). This aims to provide a small incentive to registered competitors, ease tie-breaks, and facilitate the monitoring of participation. This proposal has also been applied to the World and Baja Cups.
FIA Karting
The World Council approved the 2025 karting calendar, which includes the addition of two new FIA competitions: an FIA Karting Academy Trophy for Senior drivers at three rounds and an FIA World Cup for the OK-NJ category (one single round):
