My Proposal – Technical Regulations – Chapter 1 and 2

In the last months, in parallel with the design of new circuits and the collection of existing ones to build the Circuit Database, I have worked also on defining the new Technical Regulations.
I’ll do the same for the Sporting and the Financial Regulations, as well.

I have used as a concept the current and actual documents validated for 2022 by the FIA and the Formula 1 teams, especially to make sure that I would have covered meticulously all safety aspects.

The main objectives for the ones I have created are:

• Allowing more freedom to engineers and suppliers, which will generate big differences among cars using innovative designs, technologies and manufacturing methods.
• Making more attractive for new constructors and suppliers to participate to both the World and/or the Continental series
• Re-transforming Formula 1 into the best and most sophisticated R&D laboratory for manufacturers of cars and components, so that the technologies and ideas used to win races and titles can be transferred to commercial vehicles.
• Creating natural variables to deliver a good spectacle on each track
• Giving the opportunity to the ones that area behind and to new participants to recover the gap and be competitive at the highest level
• Having cars that are able to compete in all conditions (dry, wet, bumpy tracks, street courses, etc.)

ARTICLE 1: GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. Formula One World Championship and Continental Championship
   1. The Formula One World Title is organized by the FIA, which is the custodian and enforcer of rules.
      The titles, one for drivers and one for constructors, are owned and managed by the Parliament of constructors and suppliers participating (called “The Formula One Organization”).
      The Formula One Continental Series are also organized by the FIA, for which it controls respect and compliance with the rules.
      Each local Continental Series rights are property of the parliament of constructors and suppliers participating to it (called with the name of the regional area, i.e. “The Formula One African Organization”).
      The Formula One organizations don’t have owners, CEO or representatives; they are assemblies of all participants to that series, where each constructor and supplier has equal power to vote, regardless of the number of car they are manufacturing or supplying.
      All the participating parties will observe the rules governing the Series.
   2. All Championships and each of its Competitions are governed by rules included in these documents.
   3. In the sense of the Regulations, terms referring to natural persons are applicable to any gender.
2. Regulatory Framework
   1. The Regulations applicable to the Championship are the Formula One Technical Regulations (the “Technical Regulations”), the Formula One Sporting Regulations (the “Sporting Regulations”), and the Formula One Financial Regulations (the “Financial Regulations”), together referred to as the “Regulations”.
   2. The technical regulations are issued by the FIA and have to be approved by majority (51%) of each Series parliament.
      The Sporting and Financial Regulations are agreed by majority (51%) within each parliament in the World or Continental Series, with no interference of the FIA.
      Any changes have to be approved by 51% of the assembly affected.
3. Dangerous construction
   1. The stewards may exclude a vehicle whose construction is deemed to be dangerous.
4. Compliance with the regulations
   1. Formula 1 Cars must comply with these regulations in their entirety at all times during a Competition. When a Competitor introduces a new design or system it needs to be tested for safety by the FIA looking at the design, the as-built manufacturing, the interaction with the whole car systems.
      Any new system procedure or technology that is approved by the FIA can be used from the following race and until a new rule or safety standard is introduced that makes it no longer compliant.
      It is the duty of each Competitor to satisfy any FIA technical delegate and the stewards request to verify that his Formula 1 Car complies with these regulations in their entirety at all times during a Competition.
   2. Unless clearly specified, all Technical Rules are meant for both World Title competitions and all Continental Series ones.

ARTICLE 2: DEFINITIONS

1. Formula One Car
   1. An automobile designed solely for speed races on circuits or closed courses that is propelled by its own means, moving by constantly taking real support on the ground, of which the propulsion and steering are under the direct control of a driver aboard the vehicle.
2. Competition, event or race
   1. Any Competition entered into the FIA F1 Championship Calendar, for the World Title or the Continental Series, for any year.
      It starts on the morning of the Saturday and ends on the Sunday night after the race.
3. Car mass
   1. Is the mass of the car with the driver, wearing his complete racing apparel, at all times during the Competition.
4. Sprung mass
   1. All parts of the car that are entirely supported by the sprung suspension.
5. Unsprung mass
   1. All parts of the car composing the sprung suspension external to the sprung mass and/or not entirely supported by the sprung suspension.
      For the purpose of this definition the boundary between sprung and unsprung mass will be at the suspension members’ inboard attachments.
6. Power unit or Engine
   1. The internal propulsion engine, complete with its ancillaries, and any other system connected to it.
7. Geometrical planes
   1. Reference plane: a nominally horizontal plane sitting at the bottom of the sprung part of the car.
   2. Centre plane: a vertical plane, which is perpendicular to the reference plane and aligned with the direction of motion of the car. The centre plane is the nominal plane of symmetry of the car.
   3. Plane A-A (also referred to as “A-A”): a plane which is perpendicular to both the reference and centre planes, which lies on the front bulkhead of the survival cell.
   4. Plane C-C (also referred to as “C-C”): a plane which is parallel to A-A.
8. Coordinate system and references
   1. A right-handed Cartesian (X, Y, Z) coordinate system will be used in these regulations.
   2. Further conventions:
      1. If no units are specified, it is implicit the unit will be in millimetres
      2. The suffix “L” may be used for local coordinates in specific rules, i.e. X_L, Y_L, Z_L, where these local axes are defined within a specific Article for local use.
      3. Planes will be referred to as the axis to which they are normal to
      4. Unless otherwise specified any measurements and references will be with the wheels in the straight ahead position (the wheel rotation axis lying within an X plane).
      5. Unless otherwise specified, when a viewing direction is stated, “front” and “rear” are parallel to the X axis, “side” is parallel to the Y axis (in the direction towards the car centre plane) and “above”, “below” and “plan” are parallel to the Z axis.
   3. A Cartesian (X_W, Y_W, Z_W) coordinate system will be used for each wheel.
9. Precision of Numerical Values
   1. Any numerical values specified in these Regulations as limits (maxima or minima), will be considered to be the limits regardless of the decimals quoted.