DISCUSSION: Talk about the confirmed 2019 technical regulation changes

At a meeting carried out in Paris, the FIA has confirmed a series of technical regulation changes that will come into play next year. Here at GPBlog, we discuss the changes being implemented at the start of next season and how they will affect the sport. 

These things are excellent. The sport has received plenty of stick for adding the halo as a key safety device. I haven’t seen anyone argue against the Biometric gloves. 

The gloves contain a device that informs the crew in the medical car of a drivers status prior to their arrival at the crash site. 

This enables the medics to have more understanding of the treatment an injured driver requires. 

Most drivers have been wearing these gloves for a couple of seasons but making them mandatory is a perfect addition. 

The FIA confirmed they will be adding 5kg to the fuel limit starting in the 2019 season. 

This raises the limit to 110kg and will allow the drivers to use their engines at full power throughout the duration of the race. 

But will teams actually do this? One of the main reasons drivers and teams decide not to push their car to the max is a result of the 3 power unit limit. 

Having the engine at full power for longer will just wreck the PU’s at a faster rate. This means the teams will have the same intentions of turning down the engine, no matter how much fuel is available. 

Having said this, on some tracks we have seen cars run out of fuel either towards the end of the race or on the cool down lap. 

Nothing was mentioned about changes to the aerodynamics. We expect these to be announced before the end of April as this is when the deadline expires.

Ongoing research into the change of aerodynamics should improve overtaking. 

An emergency meeting was held after the lack of overtaking in Australia, but this has since been reversed following the last two races. 

Do we need to look at the Melbourne track, or are the aerodynamics really making overtaking difficult?