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F1 teams reject rules revolution for 2016

ESPN Staff
February 18, 2015 « Palmer to test for Lotus in Barcelona | Mercedes-backed Wehrlein to test for Force India »
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Formula One teams have voted against an overhaul of the regulations next season, putting the prospect of any major changes on hold until 2017.

The Inside Line

  • "Change is no bad thing, and seeking improvement is pretty much why we wear clothes instead of loincloths and live in houses rather than caves. But in aiming to get better we cannot forget what is already good."
    Read more analysis of F1's rules revolution here

The F1 Commission met on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of a significant tweak to the rule book to give the sport a new look with - among other changes - wider cars and wider tyres. However, with F1 still reeling from the loss of two teams and the financial impact of the introduction of new V6 turbo hybrid engines last year, it was decided that 2017 was realistically the earliest the teams could stomach more change.

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The decision came on the same day that Ferrari released images of a radical new F1 concept car, which was widely praised by fans. Even though the Ferrari of the future was just an artist's impression cooked up by its design department, it intended to show what the sport could look like with "minimal changes" to the current regulations.

However, the associated costs of yet another rule change meant it was hardly surprising the loose plans for 2016 were shot down. The delay means F1 teams and the governing body can take more time to formulate a new look for the sport, which some stakeholders, such as Ferrari, believe is necessary to arrest the decline in global interest and dwindling crowd sizes races.

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