Formula 1 may have regulation changes as early as the Miami GP, but the initial impact is expected to be limited. Racing Bulls chief Alan Permane warned that the weekend format and limited testing time should prevent deeper changes right from the start.
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These discussions between FIA, Formula 1, and the teams continue following issues identified in the first three races of the season. Talks continued on Tuesday (14), with a new round scheduled for April 20, before any decision is sent to the World Motor Sport Council for ratification, which should occur before the Miami GP.
Permane highlighted that the challenge is even greater because Miami will be a Sprint format weekend. In this format, there is only one hour of free practice before the Sprint qualifying, drastically reducing the time available to test technical changes compared to a traditional weekend.
The executive also pointed out that the calendar sequence does not help in evaluating the changes. After Miami, Formula 1 will have another Sprint race in Canada, followed by the Monaco GP, an atypical circuit that limits significant testing. Therefore, the Spanish GP, in Barcelona-Catalunya, in mid-June, emerges as the first real opportunity to evaluate a more complete package.
Permane explained that some discussed changes involve issues like ‘lift and coast’ (decelerating to recover energy): “I know people don’t like ‘lift and coast,’ and we know we don’t want to see energy harvesting outside the ideal. The way to eliminate this is to give ourselves much less energy,” he said.
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The Racing Bulls chief acknowledged that reducing available energy may make the cars slower, but warned of the need for caution: “We will make the cars slower, but I don’t think we want to make the corners less challenging, so we need to be careful, and I know the FIA is being careful,” he said.
According to Permane, some changes should appear already in Miami, but not all: “There will be changes for Miami, but I’m not sure we will see the full package, because the event format makes everyone cautious,” he added.
He also indicated that implementation should be gradual over the next races: “Maybe we try some simpler solutions in Miami, others in Montreal, and then we go to Monaco, where it’s almost impossible to test anything. Barcelona might be the first time we try some more challenging ones,” he concluded, advocating that the process continue to be led by the FIA and Formula 1 itself.
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