 "Red Bull Perez controversy causes FIA to make major rule change ahead of 2025 Formula 1 season")
The FIA has made a significant change to Formula 1’s sporting regulations ahead of the 2025 season, addressing a key controversy involving Red Bull and Sergio Perez during the 2024 Canadian Grand Prix. The change directly impacts how teams handle severely damaged cars on track.
Red Bull-Perez incident sparks rule change
During last year’s Canadian Grand Prix, Red Bull driver Sergio Perez crashed and came back to the pit lane with a heavily damaged car. The move was seen as an attempt to avoid triggering a safety car, which could have compromised teammate Max Verstappen ’s race lead. As a result, Perez was handed a three-place grid penalty for the following race, but the incident raised concerns over safety.
Verstappen eventually won the Canadian GP with Lando Norris of McLaren coming second and George Russell of Mercedes finishing third. To prevent similar situations in the future, the FIA has modified Article 26.10 of the sporting regulations. The updated rule gives race director Rui Marques the authority to instruct a team to pull over a car that is too damaged to continue safely.
The new regulation states: “Any driver whose car has significant and obvious damage to a structural component which results in it being in a condition presenting an immediate risk of endangering the driver or others, or whose car has a significant failure or fault which means it cannot reasonably return to the pit lane without unnecessarily impeding another competitor or otherwise hindering the competition must leave the track as soon as it is safe to do so.”
The rule also clarifies that the race director has full discretion to decide when a car must be pulled over from the track due to damage.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsAlongside the safety-driven changes, the FIA has also revised the regulations surrounding the formation lap procedure for pit lane starters.
The updated rule states: “Once all cars on track have passed the end of the pit lane on the formation lap, the pit exit will be opened and all cars starting from the pit lane able to do so must leave the pit lane and join the formation lap.”
Perez, on the other hand, has left Red Bull Racing following the end of his extended contract, ending a four-year partnership. Verstappen has got a new partner in New Zealand-born Liam Lawson.
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