Formula 1 is set to be affected by several rule changes next season, with sprint races among the areas impacted.
Just days after Lando Norris claimed the F1 world championship in Abu Dhabi, beating Max Verstappen and Oscar Piastri, the eyes of the motorsport world have already turned to the upcoming campaign.
All 10 current teams took to the track at Yas Marina for post-season testing on Tuesday, helping Pirelli with their tyre selection for next year.
There will also be a change to the grid itself, with Cadillac set to become the 11th team in F1.
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The American outfit has opted for experienced drivers, with former Red Bull star Sergio Perez and Mercedes veteran Valtteri Bottas set to return to F1.
Audi will also field a team, taking over the existing Sauber squad, which finished ninth in the Constructors' Championship in 2025.
They have retained Sauber's driver line-up of Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto.
Meanwhile, engineers will be working to adapt to the most significant technical regulation changes in several years.
From next season, F1 cars will be lighter and more agile, with the aim of producing closer and more exciting racing.
Aerodynamics have been overhauled with DRS set to be replaced, while the power unit will be redesigned with a greater focus on the hybrid component of the engine.
In addition to technical regulations, the World Council has approved several sporting changes ahead of the new season.
Sprint races will be among those affected.
Previously, if sprint qualifying was officially declared wet, teams were allowed to use more dry tyres than usual.
From next season, even if sprint qualifying is declared wet, the limits on dry tyre usage will remain in place and teams will not be able to exceed their standard allocation of dry tyres.
What are the nine new F1 rule changes?
As per the FIA website, the Would Council have approved nine changes to F1 for next season.
The main sporting changes include:
- Sprint Qualifying dry tyre limitations will no longer be removed when a period of Sprint Qualifying is declared wet.
- The operational personnel limit for 2026 will temporarily increase to 60, to ensure teams can operate the new generation of cars effectively.
- Race suspension and resumption procedures have been simplified.
- The return to single pre-season test from 2027 onwards has been confirmed.
- Out-of-Competition Tyre Testing car specifications have been amended as necessitated by the generational car change for 2026.
- An allowance has been made for FP1 at a Sprint event to be extended following a red flag, to ensure that competitors are afforded relevant practice time.
- There have been updates to Driver Adjustable Bodywork (SLM / CM) usage – these amendments have been made to ensure congruity with Technical Regulations, as well as finalise details of SLM usage in several scenarios.
The key changes to technical rules are:
- Minor changes to Article C3 for clarification, including those related to deflection tests procedures.
- Changes to the power unit regulations were made to refine the energy management provisions
Topics: Formula 1, Motorsport
James Taylor