FIA announces major rule changes for 2023 F1 season

The FIA has announced major rule changes for the 2023 F1 season in London after the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting. The meeting was scheduled to discuss rule changes and clarifications for next season. Here are some of the changes that have been put in place.

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Roll hoops strengthened

Roll hoops for F1 cars have been strengthened for next season primarily due to the incidents of the 2022 F1 British GP. To refresh memories, George Russell and Guanyu Zhou clashed at the start of the race in Silverstone.

An alarming situation arose when the Alfa Romeo's roll hoop failed as the car went tumbling over the fence. Fortunately, serious injuries were averted but it did raise question marks over the strength of the roll hoop. The FIA has taken a proactive stance on this by strengthening the hoop starting next season.

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Larger mirrors on F1 cars

The second major change in cars is the installation of larger mirrors on them. This was trialed by a few teams earlier in the season and will be a part of the cars next season.

This has been done to address one of the biggest complaints F1 drivers have had over the years: their inability to see anything in the existing tiny mirrors. No F1 team, however, would want to install bigger mirrors considering their aerodynamic repercussions.

The FIA has taken the matter into its own hands now and the cars will have standard-sized mirrors that are somewhat bigger than those currently used.

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Back of the grid penalties explained

Following confusion among teams regarding grid penalties, the FIA has tried to simplify things to an extent.

Article 28.3 of the sporting regulations now no longer mandates that drivers must start from the back if they incur 15 places of grid penalties.

This was amended after Ferrari replaced multiple elements of Charles Leclerc's power unit at different times in Spa in an attempt to avoid a back-of-the-grid penalty. Updated regulations state that if a driver has accrued more than 15 cumulative grid position penalties or has been penalized to start at the back of the grid, he will start behind any other classified driver.

Any driver with 15 or fewer grid penalties is 'filled in' based on their results in qualifying. If two drivers end up in the same position with a penalty, the fastest based on their qualifying time is moved forward one place.