What’s new for #F1 in 2020? @F1 Rules & Regulation Changes.

What’s new for F1 in 2020? Despite the rules being more stable, there still has been some tweaks to the regulations and here they are.

 

 

What’s new for F1 in 2020? – Chequered flag at the end of races

 

Last season saw the chequered light panel replace the chequered flag as the official marking of the end of the Grand Prix.

 

The flag was still seen last year, with Jean Alesi waving it famously as Charles Leclerc won the Italian Grand Prix for Ferrari in-front of the passionate Tifosi.

 

A glitch however at the Japanese Grand Prix, saw the chequered flag panel illuminate a lap before the end of the race, causing the official results to be counted from then – hence the revision back to the chequered flag wave.

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What’s new for F1 in 2020? – Less Testing

 

 

For 2020, the number of pre-season testing days has been reduced from eight to six, with two pre-season tests taking place at the usual Circuit De Barcelona-Catalunya in Barcelona, Spain from February 19-21 and February 26-28.

 

Mid-season testing has been scrapped altogether, meanwhile, although this should be less of a problem for the teams in this campaign –  with the cars most likely current evolutions from their 2019 predecessors – they will be well sorted by the mid-point in the championship.

 

For the younger drivers, there some good news, which sees the sporting regulations stipulate that teams must use one of them with less than two Grand Prix starts in at least one day of the post-season Abu Dhabi Grand Prix test.

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Longer Curfew

 

There is some great news for the mechanics in the 2020 FIA Formula 1 World Championship season, who will be able to (in theory) enjoy an extra hour of sleep on Thursday and Friday of Grand Prix weekends, thanks to the mandatory curfew – the times at which mechanics are forbidden in working on their respective teams’ cars, or even being within the circuit – with the hours extended from eight to nine. Teams are allowed to break the curfew only twice without receiving a penalty.

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Shark Fins

 

 

With a design feature that could be on the 2021 cars, for the 2020 campaign, teams will have to create a small plate on the engine cover of their machines – similar to McLaren’s early-2019 style wedge on the MCL34 racer – with this shark fin making it easier for fans to see the drivers’ numbers of each team’s two entries. The ruling will have very minimal aerodynamic impact on the cars.

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Weighbridge and Jump Start penalties relaxed

 

When Pierre Gasly missed the display signals during last season’s free practice two session at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, which were calling the Frenchman to the weighbridge – by a letter of law the race stewards had to punish him with a pit-lane start.

 

Those rules have been relaxed for 2020, allowing the stewards more carefulness and giving them authority to hand out less severe penalties if they see fit.

 

Jump starts as well, used to incur either a drive-through or a ten-second stop and go penalty. However, the 2020 season rules and regulations allow stewards the option to hand out less harsh five and ten-second race time penalties.

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No Screens for Testing

 

 

Traditionally teams used screens to keep their new parts under wraps from their rivals, for 2020 however, the screens will be outlawed when the track goes live (from 9am to 6pm) to improve the spectacle for fans.

 

Teams will be able to cover up however, when their car’s floor is not fitted, or if their racer is being recovered after stopping out on track.

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What’s new for F1 in 2020? – Restriction on metal in the front wing

 

 

To try and limit the risk of a puncture, the rules now dictate for 2020 that the first 50 millimetres of front wing end-plates have to be made purely of carbon fire. Any metal elements – like fasteners or inserts used to attach the front wing – are only allowed 30 millimetres back from the leading edge of the end-plate.

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Brake ducts now “Listed Parts”

 

The air ducts used to cool the brakes are now categorised as “Listed Parts”, meaning they will need to be made by the teams themselves, rather than bought by another team or company. Other parts that are listed include: car’s bodywork, roll structures, front impact structures and survival cells.

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Less electronic fiddling at race starts

 

 

The 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship season will see drivers have more control over their race starts, with 90% of the engine’s torque being controlled by the drivers command on their clutch paddles or paddles (which the rules also now dictate that they need to be “pull-type” paddles).

 

Drivers will still have stall prevention and point finder functions available to them – but the starts are now more focused on them to make sure they have a good getaway off the line.

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An extra MGU-K to the components list

 

 

In 2020, drivers can now have three MGU-K (Motor Generator Unit-Kinetic) rather than two over the course of their season, bringing the number of components in line with the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), Turbocharger (TC), Motor Generator Unit-Heat (MGU-H) elements they are allowed per year. This should mean less penalties this year, given that nine out of 20 drivers on the grid exceed their MGU-K limit in 2019.

 

Drivers however, are still only allowed to have two Energy Stores (ES) and Control Electronics (CE) per year.

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What’s new for F1 in 2020? – Less fuel outside the tank

 

The 2020 Technical Regulations limit the amount of fuel allowed to travel around the course of the car outside the fuel survival cell to just 250ml – down from two litres last season – all of which should be for the normal running of the engine. This should deter the teams from aiming to gain any benefit from having large amounts of fuel outside the tank.

 

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