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Sporting Regulation changes for the 2014 FIA Formula One World Championship:
Penalty Points (Article 4.2)
From this season drivers will accumulate penalty points on their Super Licences as a result of race incidents and rule infringements, should the Race Stewards deem it necessary.
As with road licences if a driver accrues 12 penalty points his licence will be suspended for the following event, following which the 12 points will be removed from the licence.
Penalty points will remain on a driver's Super Licence for a period of 12 months, after which they will be removed on the 12-month anniversary of their imposition.
Double Points at Final Race of the Season (Article 6.4)
This season will see double points awarded at the final race of the season in a bid to maintain interest in the championship in the closing stages of the season. It means that victory in Abu Dhabi this season will be worth 50 points, second place will be worth 36 points...
Pole Position Trophy (Article 6.7)
A trophy will be awarded to the driver who sets the most pole positions during the season. In the event of a tie the holder of the greatest number of second places in qualifying will be taken into account and so on down the order of a driver's results until a winner is established.
If this fails to produce a result, the FIA will nominate the winner according to such criteria as it thinks fit.
Extra Friday Drivers (Article 19.1)
Teams will be allowed to run more than one driver per car during Friday practice sessions. Previously, the driver nominated for the session would have to drive the whole session, but under the new regulation one or two test and reserve drivers can undertake part of FP1 or FP2 before handing the car over to one of the race drivers.
To facilitate this and in a bid to increase running in the opening part of sessions, an extra set of the weekend's harder (prime) compound tyres is being made available to teams but only for use in the first 30 minutes of each session.
Each side of the garage will now have access to seven sets of Primes and five sets of Option tyres for the weekend, with three sets of each being reserved for qualifying and the race.
Cars Leaving the Track and Gaining an Advantage (Article 20.2)
The rule covering drivers leaving the track and gaining a perceived advantage has been tweaked so that a punishment of ceding back any advantage gained is now at the discretion of the Race Director.
This is aimed at avoiding the frequent imposition of drive-through penalties for infractions, penalties which could severely compromise a driver's race. Drive-throughs are still available to the Race Stewards should the incident demand it, however.
Driver Numbers (Article 21.2)
From this season drivers are allowed to choose their own number which will remain with them for the duration of the their F1 career. Number one is still reserved for the champion, however, should he wish to use it.
The driver's number must be clearly visible, both on their car and on their helmet.
In-Season Testing (Article 22.6 g/h)
Following an experimental return to in-season testing in 2012 with one test at Mugello, this year sees the return of in-season testing.
There will be four two-day in-season tests allowed, with Bahrain (April), Barcelona (May), Silverstone (July) and Abu Dhabi (November) staging the tests in the wake of each country's grand prix.
Each team will dedicate one of their eight days of in-season testin exclusively to tyre testing. This means that during each of the eight days of in-season testing, at least one team – and up to a maximum of two – will be concentrating on tyre testing.
Cars will also be classified as 'Current' (TCC), 'Previous' (TPC) and 'Historic' (THC), with the FIA introducing strict limits on which cars may be used and the conditions under which they are tested.
Pit stop Car Release (Article 23.12)
The FIA has tightened the rules governing car release from pit stops following a number of incidents in recent seasons. If a car is deemed to have been released in an unsafe condition during any practice session, the stewards may drop the driver any number of grid positions they consider appropriate.
In the case of an unsafe release during a race the driver concerned will receive a 10-grid place penalty at the following race. However, if any car released in an unsafe condition is able to resume the race a 10-second stop-go penalty will also be imposed for the current race. If the infringement is within the final three laps of the race, the driver will have 30 seconds added to his race time.
Weighing (Article 26.1 iii)
A reprimand will be imposed on any driver who fails to stop when signalled to do so, provided the car is then brought back to the FIA garage without delay and that the FIA technical delegate is satisfied the car has been brought back in exactly the same condition it was in when it was driven into the pits. This is a lesser punishment that has been issued in previous years.
Any driver who fails to stop when asked to do so, and then fails to bring the car back to the FIA garage, or if work is carried out on the car before it is returned to the FIA garage, will be required to start the race from the pit lane.
Power Units (Article 28.4)
Drivers will be able to use five of the new power units in 2014. This is more complicated than it first appears since the power unit is deemed to comprise six elements, which can be moved between units should the need arise.
Drivers will be able to use five each of the following: the engine (ICE), the motor generator unit-kinetic (MGU-K), the motor generator unit-heat (MGU-H), the energy store (ES), turbocharger (TC) and control electronics (CE). Each element can be rotated among units.
Should a driver use more than five of any one of the elements a grid penalty will be imposed at the first event during which each additional element is used.
The first time a driver uses a sixth element, a ten-place grid penalty will be imposed. Different sixth elements used later will incur a five-place grid penalty. The first time a driver uses a seventh element, a ten-place grid penalty will be imposed. Different seventh elements used later will incur a five-place grid penalty and so on...
If a grid penalty is imposed, and the driver's grid position is such that the full penalty cannot be applied, the remainder of the penalty will be applied at the driver's next race. However, no remaining penalties will be carried forward for more than one race.
Six-Race Gearboxes (Article 28.6)
Since 2011 driver's have had to use gearboxes for five races, but this year the number has risen to six. As previously, drivers who don't finish a race will be allowed to fit a new gearbox for the following race without penalty.
Fuel Use (Article 29.5)
No car is permitted to use more than 100kg of fuel, from the time of the race start until the time it crosses the line at the end of the race. Other than in accepted cases of force majeure any driver exceeding the 100kg maximum will be excluded from the race result.
General Safety (Article 30.12)
The pit lane speed limit will is reduced from 100 km/h (62 mph) to 80 km/h (50 mph). However, this limit may be amended by the stewards following a recommendation from the FIA safety delegate.
The Grid (Article 36.2)
Drivers who do not take part in a qualifying period will be assigned grid positions based on the qualifying bracket they were in at the time and their Free Practice 3 lap times. For example, if two drivers qualify for but do not take part in Q3, they will start the race from ninth and tenth places, with the positions they take decided by their FP3 times.
Entry Fees (Appendix 7)
The winner of the 2013 World Championship for Constructors will be required to pay a basic fee of S508,0001 plus $60,961 for each point gained in the 2013 World Championship for Constructors.
Every other competitor will be required to pay a basic fee of $508,0001 plus $50,801 for each point that competitor gained in the 2013 World Championship for Constructors.
In both cases the basic fee is due at the time of the application and the remainder by 30 November of the year prior to the year to which this application relates.
Wind Tunnel and CFD Testing Restrictions (Appendix 8)
The FIA has heavily cut the amount of time teams are allowed to test in wind tunnels and in CFD. A complicated set of formulae have been set to assess the amount of time teams spend on such testing and after proscribed eight-week timeframes teams must declare in writing details of its Restricted Wind Tunnel Testing and Restricted CFD Simulations.
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