FIA confirms F1 rule changes in reaction to driver unhappiness and safety fears
The FIA has confirmed rule changes for the ongoing Formula One season as the sport reacts to driver dissatisfaction and safety concerns with the new regulations.The adapted rules address the energy management issues that have proved controversial across the opening three meetings this year.Technical and sporting considerations had been discussed twice since the last round in Japan and on Monday senior representatives, including the FIA, team principals and their chief executives, the power unit manufacturers and F1’s chief executive, Stefano Domenicali, formally agreed the changes.They remain subject to ratification by the world motorsport council, a formality expected to be concluded before the next round in Miami on 3 May.There has been disquiet among many drivers at the role energy management now plays in the sport with an almost 50-50 split between power from the combustion engine and electrical energy.
The deployment and recharging of the latter has come to dominate how drivers approach a lap, with the four-time champion Max Verstappen so unhappy at how it has affected racing that he is considering his future in F1,The energy management requirements have also brought safety sharply into focus,Oliver Bearman had an accident at Suzuka because of the differing closing speeds of cars managing electrical energy in different modes at the same point on track,The rule changes agreed in response are an adjustment to existing regulations, rather than a sweeping rewrite, focusing on refining the use of electrical energy,To address key driver complaints there were two major adjustments.
In qualifying, the limit in recharge over a lap has been decreased from eight megajoules to seven, with the intent of allowing a lap to be run flat out without having to use tactical energy recovery.Similarly, the unpopular process of lift and coast, where drivers come off throttle with a paucity of electrical energy, has been addressed.There has been an increase in the recharge limit from 250kW to 350kW when super clipping, the process of recovering energy when at full throttle.With more energy recovered in so doing, it is expected drivers will no longer have to lift and coast at the end of straights.The issue of closing speeds, considered a serious safety concern, has led to a change in the boost limits for use to prevent cars coming up on one another at high speed in unexpected areas.
The maximum boost power has been capped at 150kW.There were also added safety protocols for race starts including warning lights for cars that are slow to move off and the potential for further technical changes around the starts to be evaluated at the Miami Grand Prix.The amount of power available through the energy recovery systems would also be adjusted during wet races to ensure the cars were able to be driven safely in difficult conditions.On Sunday the FIA president, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, described what had been a “constructive and collaborative” engagement with the drivers during the process and said he was pleased all parties had come to an agreement.“Safety and sporting fairness remain the FIA’s highest priorities,” he said.
“These changes have been introduced to address the issues identified in the opening events and to ensure the continued integrity and quality of the competition,“All parties have remained fully committed to acting in the best interests of F1,More than ever, the drivers have been at the heart of these discussions, and I would like to thank them for their valuable input throughout this process,”Before the meeting the Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, had said he was confident F1 would find a constructive way forward in an approach of using a “scalpel rather than a baseball bat”,He added: “The discussions that have been taking place between the group of drivers, the FIA, Formula One and the teams have been constructive and we all share the same objectives.
It’s how can we improve the product, make it out-and-out racing and look at what can improve in terms of safety, but act with a scalpel and not with a baseball bat,“We are coming to good solutions that we are going to ratify hopefully today, in order to evolve, because it’s only three races in,”
London to host historic first team time trial for Tour de France Femmes in 2027
London will provide the backdrop for a landmark moment in cycling history as it hosts the first team time trial in the women’s Tour de France next year.The best riders in the women’s peloton will race against the clock, as teams, on a central London circuit of approximately 18km, pass the Houses of Parliament, London Eye and Tower Bridge, and culminating in a finish on the Mall.“The team time trial has always been one of the most exciting and spectacular formats in cycling, and we are very proud that the first one will take place in London,” the race director Marion Rousse said. “It’s a huge moment in the history of the race.”Although the men’s race visited London in 2007 and 2014, 2027 is the inaugural visit of the Tour de France Femmes to the capital, with the team time trial providing a showcase finale to three days of UK-based racing
Floods, baskets and Billie Jean King: how the rough and tumble WBL set the stage for the WNBA
It was the night before the 1980 Women’s Professional Basketball League draft in New York City and the Dallas Diamonds had the No 1 pick. But the team’s top brass was split. Coach Greg Williams wanted to take the 6ft 5in Danish star Inge Nissen, and the team’s GM Nancy Nichols prized Nancy Lieberman, the American point guard people called “Lady Magic”.“We argued for days about Nissen versus Lieberman,” Nichols tells the Guardian.Nichols remembers the hours after dinner that night; everyone had retired to their rooms
Jack Draper faces French Open fitness race as knee injury worries deepen
Jack Draper has been ruled out for at least another month as injuries continue to disrupt his hopes of establishing himself as one of the top players in the world.Draper has withdrawn from the Madrid Open this week and the subsequent Italian Open due to the aggravated knee tendon injury that forced him to retire from his opening match at the Barcelona Open last week. Although he will miss most of the clay-court season, Draper is still aiming to compete at Roland Garros, which begins in five weeks on 24 May. He is considering entering one of the tournaments scheduled a week before the French Open.“An aggravated tendon in my knee means I am not able to play in Madrid and Rome,” Draper said in a statement
LeBron James is 41. And he’s somehow still carrying his team in the playoffs
The Lakers star would have been expecting to play a supporting role as he burrows into his 40s. But injuries means he has assumed a familiar roleLeBron James must be so sick of this. If he wanted to experience being the best player on an otherwise thin team, he could simply remember the Cleveland Cavaliers’ run to the NBA finals in 2007. Or the 2015 NBA finals when his best teammates, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, suffered injuries. Or the 2018 season, which convinced SNL to make a spoof of James’ support staff
State of Origin coaches back Australian NRL takeover of England’s Super League
State of Origin coaches Billy Slater and Laurie Daley have backed the NRL’s pursuit of a stake in the Super League, arguing a strong northern hemisphere game is key to the future of rugby league.The NRL’s chief executive, Andrew Abdo, was in England last week exploring the investment opportunity that would involve governance reform in the UK and a potential shift back to a winter season to allow broadcasters to screen elite rugby league year-round.Slater, who coached the Maroons to an Origin series win in 2025, said the sport needed to improve its pathways across the globe to ensure standards remain high.“There’s definitely something over there in the English Super League, and I think [the NRL] can make that work,” he said.While Abdo has said opportunities with the Super League could help grow the value of the NRL’s next broadcast deal, Slater believed the main benefit was to help improve playing standards in Europe and in the NRL, which is expected to grow to 20 teams in coming years
Castleford’s shock win over Wigan shows NRL that Super League still has a lot to offer
The talks have started and the jockeying for position in the boardrooms has begun. In the coming weeks, we will find just how strong an offer Australia’s National Rugby League is prepared to make to invest in Super League and potentially transform the fortunes of the competition.There is a school of thought, perhaps perpetuated more by those in Australia than in Europe, that Super League is flailing and in desperate need of help. In terms of the financials there may be some merit in that, with wealthy club owners losing tens of millions between them each year. As business models go, it is hardly sustainable
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