FIA Announces World Motor Sport Council Decisions
The FIA held its latest World Motor Sport Council meeting today in Paris.
During the meeting, the following decisions were taken:
FIA Formula One World Championship
The World Motor Sport Council approved the provisional calendar for the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship:
| 26 March | Melbourne | Australia |
| 9 April | Shanghai | China |
| 16 April | Bahrain | Bahrain |
| 30 April | Sochi | Russia |
| 14 May | Barcelona | Spain |
| 28 May | Monte Carlo | Monaco |
| 11 June | Montreal | Canada* |
| 18 June | Baku | Azerbaijan |
| 2 July | Spielberg | Austria |
| 9 July | Silverstone | United Kingdom |
| 23 July | Budapest | Hungary |
| 30 July | Hockenheim | Germany* |
| 27 August | Spa-Francorchamps | Belgium |
| 3 September | Monza | Italy |
| 17 September | Sepang | Malaysia |
| 1 October | Singapore | Singapore |
| 8 October | Suzuka | Japan |
| 22 October | Austin | USA |
| 5 November | Mexico City | Mexico |
| 12 November | Sao Paolo | Brazil* |
| 26 November | Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates |
*Subject to confirmation
The World Motor Sport Council confirmed changes to Appendices 6 and 8 of the 2017 F1 Sporting Regulations which clarify outsourcing arrangements and conduct permitted regarding Listed Parts, Non-Listed Parts, wind tunnel testing and personnel transfer between teams engaged in a working or developmental relationship.
A new procedure regarding wet weather starts was also accepted. From 2017, if a safety car is deemed to be required for the beginning of a race due to wet weather, a normal standing start will occur once the track is deemed safe to race. The process will see the safety car return to the pit lane and the cars assemble on the grid for the start.
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]Drivers must continue to present their helmets in substantially the same livery at every event of the FIA Formula One World Championship for easy recognition of the driver in the car, however a driver will now be allowed one event (such as a home race) for a special livery (at the driver’s choice). Drivers will also be allowed to change their helmet liveries if changing teams during the season.
During any single event, if a driver introduces more than one of a power unit element that is subject to penalty, only the last element fitted may be used at subsequent events without further penalty. This is to prevent the stockpiling of spare power unit elements.
For the first five events of the 2017 Championship season only, the normal team selection procedure for tires will not be used as the deadline occurs before pre-season testing. For these events the supplier will allocate two sets of the hardest compound specification, four sets of the medium compound specification and seven sets of the softest compound specification to each driver.
FIA Formula 3 European Championship
A number of changes to the Sporting Regulations were adopted by the World Motor Sport Council to improve the value proposition for drivers and teams. These include:
– Increase in the maximum number of seasons for drivers – from three to four. The maximum age for drivers is now 25 years.
– Implementation of a prizemoney pool of €500,000 split between drivers, rookies and teams.
– The penalty for an engine change is now a ten place penalty for one race (reduced from three races) – should the FIA Technical Delegate be satisfied that the change is due to a mechanical or electrical failure.
– Wind tunnel testing is now banned. The chassis manufacturer will also now be required to disclose the full aerodynamic data to all competitors.
FIA Formula 3 World Cup
The World Motor Sport Council selected Pirelli as the exclusive tire supplier for the FIA Formula 3 World Cup to be held at the Macau Grand Prix on 17-20 November.
FIA Formula 4
The World Motor Sport Council noted the introduction of a safety upgrade to F4 cars – specifically a headrest completely filled with foam and new extractable seat requirements. Also, wheel tethers must now be capable of absorbing 6kJ of energy, up from 4kJ previously.
All F4 chassis manufacturers currently adhere to these standards, and new cars with these safety features will remain at €33,000 for the basic car. An upgrade kit will be made available for older cars to bring them into line with the new standards at minimal cost.
FIA Formula E Championship
The FIA previously launched a tender for the exclusive supply of batteries for the FIA Formula E Championship, with the aim of implementing technology that will allow drivers to complete a full race without changing cars mid-race from Season 5.
At the conclusion of the tender process, and with the support of independent experts, the World Motor Sport Council has chosen McLaren Applied Technologies as the exclusive battery supplier for the 2018-19 (Season 5) and 2019-20 seasons. The decision was made to limit the term of this agreement to two seasons in light of the ongoing rapid development of battery technology.
The World Motor Sport Council approved the introduction of a “power ramp down" whereby cars that have exceeded the maximum allowed power usage during the race, must linearly ramp down to 0kW use within five seconds on track. The car’s rain light and ready-to-move light must flash to alert other drivers on track. After the car crosses the pit-in line in the first car, or the finish line in the second car, the driver must be able to reactivate the MGU power to continue the race, or return to the pits. This amendment is designed to make the concept of drivers exceeding their power usage easier for spectators to follow.
The calendar for the 2016-17 FIA Formula E Championship was approved – the new calendar is:
| 9 October | Hong Kong* |
| 12 November | Marrakesh |
| 18 February | Buenos Aires |
| 1 April | Mexico City |
| 13 May | Monaco |
| 20 May | Paris |
| 10 June | Berlin |
| 1 July | Brussels* |
| 15 July | New York* |
| 16 July | New York* |
| 29 July | Montreal* |
| 30 July | Montreal* |
*Subject to circuit homologation
FIA World Endurance Championship
The calendar for the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship was confirmed:
| 16 April | 6 Hours of Silverstone | United Kingdom |
| 6 May | 6 Hours of Spa | Belgium |
| 17/18 June | 24 Hours of Le Mans | France |
| 16 July | 6 Hours of Nurburgring | Germany |
| 3 September | 6 Hours of Mexico City | Mexico |
| 16 September | 6 Hours of Circuit of the Americas | USA |
| 15 October | 6 Hours of Fuji | Japan |
| 5 November | 6 Hours of Shanghai | China |
| 18 November | 6 Hours of Bahrain | Bahrain |
FIA World Touring Car Championship
The World Motor Sport Council acknowledged the unfortunate cancellation of the Race of Thailand, which was scheduled for 6 November 2016, as a result of unresolved issues between the FIA World Touring Car Championship Promoter, Eurosport Events, and the Race of Thailand Promoter, the Royal Automobile Association of Thailand.
FIA GT World Cup
The World Motor Sport Council selected Pirelli as the exclusive tire supplier for the FIA GT World Cup to be held at the Macau Grand Prix on 17-20 November.
CIK-FIA
The World Motor Sport Council accepted the proposal of the CIK-FIA to reduce the minimum age of drivers competing in non-gearbox karting categories by one year. Drivers will now be able to access a Grade D or Grade C license in the calendar year of their 12th birthday in the junior categories and in the calendar year of their 14th birthday in the non-gearbox senior categories.
This change has been introduced to allow for the fact that drivers can now leave Karting for Formula 4 as early as 15 years of age – opening up the possibility of drivers entering Karting earlier will help to better prepare young drivers before they move into cars.
The adaptation of these regulations will be finalized in due course.
The calendar for the CIK-FIA championships, cups and trophies in 2017 was confirmed as follows:
| 23 April | Sarno, Italy |
CIK-FIA European Championships CIK-FIA European Junior Championships CIK-FIA European KZ Championships |
| 14 May | Genk, Belgium |
CIK-FIA European KZ Championships CIK-FIA European KZ2 Championships CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy |
| 11 June | Alonso, Spain |
CIK-FIA European Championships CIK-FIA European Junior Championships CIK-FIA European KZ Championships |
| 2 July | Le Mans, France |
CIK-FIA European Championships CIK-FIA European Junior Championships CIK-FIA European KZ2 Championships |
| 23 July | Alahärmä, Finland |
CIK-FIA European Championships CIK-FIA European Junior Championships CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy |
| 30 July | Kristianstad, Sweden |
CIK-FIA European Championships CIK-FIA European Junior Championships CIK-FIA European KZ Championships CIK-FIA European KZ2 Championships |
| 10 September | Wackersdorf, Germany |
CIK-FIA World KZ Championships CIK-FIA Karting Academy Trophy CIK-FIA International KZ2 Super Cup |
| 24 September | PF International, UK |
CIK-FIA World Championships CIK-FIA World Junior Championships |
| 1 October | Le Mans, France | CIK-FIA Endurance Championships |
FIA European Drag Racing Championship
[adinserter name="GOOGLE AD"]The Top Methanol Dragster and Top Methanol Funny Car categories will be combined for 2017 – the championship will have four classes.
The FIA will launch a call for Expressions of Interest for a Promoter for the FIA European Drag Racing Championship from 2018.
FIA Electric and New Energy Championships Commission
The World Motor Sport Council approved the request to change the name of the FIA Alternative Energies Cup to the FIA Electric and New Energy Championship (ENEC) – to establish consistency with the name of the relevant Commission.
It was also agreed for the Commission to launch a call for Expressions of Interest for a Promoter for the newly renamed FIA Electric and New Energy Championship.
FIA World Rally Championship
From 2017 a manufacturer may nominate a minimum of two and maximum of three cars for the purpose of scoring points in the Manufacturer’s Championship. Scores from the two best cars in the final classification will amass points in this Championship. Additional cars may be entered by a manufacturer but will not be eligible to score points in the Manufacturers’ Championship. Only drivers entered by Manufacturers are eligible to drive 2017 World Rally Cars, with the approval of the FIA.
A Privateers’ Cup will be created for competitors entering current World Rally Cars in WRC events, ensuring cars with valid homologations can continue to compete for a title.
As such, the new driver classification system will be as follows:
– P1 – drivers of World Rally Cars entered by a manufacturer and approved by the FIA
– P2 – drivers entered with older specifications of WRC cars
– P3 – drivers entered by a competitor eligible to score points in the WRC2 Championship
The FIA will launch an invitation to tender for the 2017 FIA Junior WRC Championship.
The World Motor Sport Council accepted the composition of the 2017 FIA World Rally Championship calendar, with 12 events (some dates still to be confirmed). They are:
| 20-22 January | Rally Monte Carlo |
| 10-12 February | Rally Sweden |
| 10-12 March | Rally Mexico |
| 7-9 April | Rallye de France |
| 28-30 April | Rally Argentina* |
| 19-21 May | Rally de Portugal |
| 9-11 June | Rally Italia* |
| Date to be confirmed | Rally Finland |
| Date to be confirmed | Rally Germany |
| Date to be confirmed | Rally Spain |
| Date to be confirmed | Rally Great Britain |
| Date to be confirmed | Rally Australia |
*Subject to formalization of agreed terms and conditions between WRC Promoter, FIA and the Event Organizer.
The candidates for the 13th or a potential 14th event are Turkey, China and Poland. The final calendar will be presented at the World Motor Sport Council meeting on 30 November, 2016.
FIA European Rally Championship
In order to increase the possibility of more drivers scoring points for the final classifications in ERC, ERC2 and ERC3, drivers and co-drivers may now only count a maximum of six scores per season.
From 2017, there will be one European Rally Championship for Teams title. Registered teams need to enter up to three cars in ERC, ERC2 or ERC3 and the two best-placed cars will amass points towards the title. The maximum number of event results counting towards the title is set at six.
FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies
The calendar for the 2017 FIA World Cup for Cross-Country Rallies was confirmed:
| 24-26 February | Russia | Baja Russia-Northern Forest | B |
| 9-11 March | Abu Dhabi | Dubai Baja** | B |
| 1-7 April | Abu Dhabi | Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge | CC |
| 16-21 April | Qatar | Sealine Cross Country Rally | CC |
| 20-27 May | Kazakhstan | Rally Kazakhstan | CC |
| 15-18 June | Italy | Italian Baja* | B |
| 21-23 July | Spain | Baja Espana Aragon | B |
| 10-13 August | Hungary | Hungarian Baja | B |
| 24-27 August | Poland | Baja Poland | B |
| 1-7 October | Morocco | Rallye du Maroc* | CC |
| 26-28 October | Portugal | Baja Portiere 500 | B |
* Subject to the ASN’s confirmation
** Subject to candidate event / FIA approval and the date
B=Baja, CC=Cross Country
FIA Historic Motor Sport Commission
After consultation with the competitors, teams and organizers, a number of proposals were made to the World Motor Sport Council regarding the Sporting Regulations of the FIA Historic Sporting Rally Championship in order to improve the success of, and participation in the championship. These were all approved and will be added to the Sporting Regulations for the 2017 championship.
The World Motor Sport Council accepted the addition and recognition in Appendix K of Competition.
Touring (CT) cars of Period G onwards, built in compliance with an ASN’s technical regulations for the top multi-marque National Touring Car Championship and subject to the approval of the HMSC. This follows a number of HTP applications for cars that raced according to specifications issued by a particular ASN but also having raced in competitions registered on the International Sporting Calendar of the FIA.
Next
The next World Motor Sport Council meeting will be held on 30 November in Vienna.