F1 2025 - News/Regulation change/Developments

Formula 1 has abandoned plans to make steel skid blocks mandatory for selected races this year, in the wake of a test at Barcelona in Spain last week.

 

The Money - The reference to NFL - I dont care. Has Liberty with all this money made F1 better. Not sensing it has overall. The teams have all this money and can barely update due to absurd Cost Cap.

https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/formula-1-sponsorship-tops-2billion-for-the-first-time/10730134/

Formula 1 sponsorship tops $2billion for the first time
In a recent report, SponsorUnited statistics show F1 teams collectively amassed $2.04billion in sponsorship revenue in 2024, closing the gap on the runaway leader, the NFL
Mark Mann-Bryans Jun 6, 2025, 3:25 PM


Formula 1 has become a sponsorship juggernaut in recent years and new, independent research has shown that over $2billion was earned in 2024 with only the NFL now bringing in more revenue on an annual basis.

A report from SponsorUnited shows that F1 and its teams generated $2.04billion last year, more than a number of established American sports leagues that had previously led the way in terms of sponsorship money.

The NBA, MLB and NHL all brought in less, with only the $2.5billion from the NFL topping F1’s own figure – although the ways in which the two championships reached their respective totals could not be more different.

Across the series, the SponsorUnited report lists the collective F1 teams as averaging over $6million apiece, some eight times more than the average revenue the NFL produces from its own partnerships.

“A few years ago, people said the world was going crazy when the Dallas Cowboys were valued at $4billion,” Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff recently told the Financial Times.

“Now they’re worth $10bn and everybody says, how crazy is that? If teams are successful, the sport prospers, and the bottom line grows, higher valuations are justified. In Formula 1, it’s justified by peer group valuations, revenue multiples, EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) multiples, sustainable growth, and predictable income.

“Sponsorship contracts are generally three to 10 years. TV contracts, the same. You have great predictability, which you don’t always get in a conventional business. The attraction changed when Liberty bought the sport. Bernie [Ecclestone] led the sport for more than 40 years and made it big. But when it changed hands, the new owners pushed it up to completely new levels — the American way of looking at sports from an entertainment perspective.”

It is unsurprising that Mercedes, Ferrari, Red Bull and McLaren are the highest earning teams in terms of sponsorship, while the report also breaks down which sectors are now involved in F1 partnerships – wit the technology category accounting for over $500million of partnership income across the 10 teams.

It also shows the most expensive sponsorship assets for a team, with the airbox and sidepod advertising positions worth upwards of $5million for the bigger names on the grid.

 

Sainz on the 'new' circuit in Madrid - https://www.skysports.com/watch/video/13381111/first-look-carlos-sainz-drives-his-williams-around-brand-new-track-in-madrid

 

--Thailand approves plan for $1.2bn 2028 F1 race bid
Formula 1 is a step closer to adding a race in Thailand after the country's government agreed to submit a $1.2billion proposal for a grand prix in Bangkok starting in 2028--

Oh joy another hot sweaty street circuit.

 

Such caring people in that clan.

 

Could that replace the Monaco GP on the F1 calendar ?

 

It might be a better race lol. Sad but true.

 

Canada Grand Prix: Formula 1 extends Montreal race until 2035

 

Dear MBS,

Top Drivers and Team Principles add value to F1, you, in particular, do not !!!

 

South African GP F1 return hope boosted by approved Kyalami upgrade

The South African Grand Prix has taken another step closer to returning to the Formula 1 calendar with the FIA approving plans for Kyalami to become a Grade 1 circuit

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Only logical thing is to sack the 7time lucky as well.

 

MBS afraid of women. Pathetic crap he is.

 

BBC answers this question about future race in Africa:


What is your understanding about the current progress of having a grand prix in Africa? - Nick

F1 is still keen to have a grand prix in Africa, to make it a truly global world championship. But finding the right location is proving problematic.

Kyalami in South Africa last week announced that it had "confirmation that the FIA has accepted final design proposals to upgrade the circuit to Grade One status - the highest international standard required to host Formula 1".

It added: "Selected works will be actioned pending the successful outcome of South Africa's place on the Formula 1 calendar and Kyalami being selected as the preferred hosting venue."

In other words, it will do the required work only if it wins a contract to host F1. And it is a long way from that.

There is a rival bid in South Africa, for a street race in Cape Town. Neither is believed to have the funding required.

Rwanda popped up as a potential host nation last year - and its president Paul Kagame hosted the FIA prizegiving in December in the capital Kigali. But although a new F1-standard track is being built by the new airport there, the chances of the race happening have receded.

There is another bid in Morocco, for a track in Tangier. But that as yet has no funding, and does not have the backing of the country's king, without which finances are unlikely to be found.

 

FIA publishes F1 racing guidelines and penalty system
F1's governing body has made its tweaked 2025 racing guidelines public
But while the document had always been confidential, the governing body has now published the latest version used in 2025 on its website.

The most hotly-debated clause is the question of which car gets priority in a wheel-to-wheel duel and whether or not space must be left on the exit, with it being easier for a car on the inside to overtake this year.

The guidelines state the following:

"A. Overtaking on the INSIDE of a corner: To be entitled to be given room when overtaking on the INSIDE, the overtaking car must:
i) Have its front axle AT LEAST ALONGSIDE THE MIRROR of the other car PRIOR TO AND AT THE APEX
ii) Be driven in a fully controlled manner particularly from entry to apex, and not have “dived in”.
iii) In the Stewards’ estimation, have taken a reasonable racing line and been able to complete the move whilst remaining within track limits.

"B. Overtaking on the OUTSIDE of a corner: Overtaking on the outside will always be viewed as a more difficult manoeuvre to accomplish. To be entitled to be given room, including at the exit, when overtaking on the OUTSIDE, the overtaking car must:
i) Have its front axle AHEAD OF THE FRONT AXLE of the other car AT THE APEX.
ii) Be driven in a controlled manner from entry, to apex, and to exit. iii) Be able to make the corner within track limits.

"C. Chicanes and S-Bends:
i) The above guides for INSIDE and OUTSIDE may apply for each element of the combination. Generally, priority will be given to the first corner element.


"It's important to stress these are guidelines, not regulations, and merely help competitors understand how stewards are likely to judge a certain incident. But stewards still have the authority to make case-by-case judgements based on the sporting regulations, and the FIA has specified the elements that are also being taken into consideration.

"i) How did the cars get to the incident? (E.g. late braking, diving in, moving under braking.)
ii) Was the manoeuvre late or “optimistic”?
iii) What could the drivers reasonably see, know, or anticipate?
iv) Do we believe the manoeuvre could be completed on the track?
v) Was there understeer / oversteer / locking?
vi) Did someone position / handle their car in a way that contributed to the incident?
vii) Did the type of corner contribute to the incident? (e.g. camber, kerbs, curve, apexes)
viii) What were the relative tyres / tyre age / grip?"

Other information in the document includes guidelines on track limits. The FIA's announcement also included a comment from Mercedes driver and GPDA director George Russell, who had been critical of the governing body's lack of transparency.

"Greater transparency within the governance of our sport is an important issue and this is a useful step in that direction," Russell said. "Hopefully it will be beneficial for the sport to give the media and fans a clearer understanding of the rules of engagement when we're racing on track, and to help them understand how the stewards reach their decisions."

The FIA also published a separate guidelines document detailing its system for penalties and penalty points, which have caught the public eye as Red Bull's Max Verstappen remains one point away from an automatic race ban throughout the Austria weekend.

 

Good I hope they replace the dictator MBS. I could care less about the corrupt small motor clubs that do not deserve any extra influence they think they have.

Tim Mayer set to announce FIA presidency bid
Ex-steward Tim Mayer is reportedly poised to announce his bid for the FIA presidency ahead of December’s election

 

Mayer: FIA president has not kept his promises and is centralising power
Former race steward Tim Mayer has announced he will run against Mohammed Ben Sulayem for the FIA presidency later this year

 

The latest plan from the FIA Dictator: https://www.autosport.com/f1/news/fia-president-ben-sulayem-confident-f1-will-return-to-v8-engines/10740496/
FIA president Ben Sulayem confident F1 will return to V8 engines
The FIA leader thinks F1 could move to a cheaper engine formula as soon as 2029 and talks up the possibility of a 12th Formula 1 team, which could come from China

FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem reiterated his support for Formula 1 to move to much cheaper V8 engines as soon as the 2029 season and also weighed up the chances of a 12th team joining the grid.
Speaking to Fleet Street journalists at last weekend's British Grand Prix in Silverstone, Ben Sulayem urged the series to move to a cheaper engine formula as soon as it is viable and thinks that move could happen for 2029 – just three years after the introduction of the ambitious 2026 power units.

"To us, the V8 is happening," said Ben Sulayem. "With the teams now, I'm very optimistic, happy about it. FOM [Formula One Management] are supportive, the teams are realising it is the right way.
"We need to do it soon. You need three years, so hopefully by 2029 we have something there, but the fuel is also very expensive, and we have to be very careful with that. Transmissions are very expensive.

"The current engine is so complicated, you have no idea, and it is costly. R&D is reaching $200 million, and the engine is costing approximately $1.8m to $2.1m, so if we go with a straight V8, let's see."

Ben Sulayem's comments largely mirror the ones he and other FIA officials made earlier this season, when the president's calls for cheaper engines led to a meeting with the various current and future power unit manufactures in Bahrain.

The main conclusion from that meeting was that F1 must keep a form of electrification as well as sustainable fuels in its future engine regulations, with the exact formula to be discussed later through the appropriate channels.

There have not been any formal discussions on future power units since that Bahrain meeting, with any decision requiring the support of the FIA and commercial rightsholder FOM, as well as a supermajority among manufacturers.

Ben Sulayem earlier voiced a desire for V10 engines, but a V8 formula with a more modest and cheaper form of hybrid system would likely make more sense as it is more road relevant and lighter, which would answer calls to further cut down the minimum weight of F1 cars.

"Many of the manufacturers produce V8s in their cars, so commercially it's correct. How much is it? The target is more than 50 percent [cheaper] in everything," the president added.

Ben Sulayem also addressed a potential 12th team on the grid. After a protracted effort to land a US OEM in the form of GM brand Cadillac for 2026, he is eyeing participation from China next.

There is no such bid at this time, however, and Ben Sulayem acknowledged any interested party would have to go through the same rigorous FIA and FOM procedures to ensure it is viable and adds value to the series.

"The time will come when we feel it is right to open an expression of interest," he said. "We are not here to upset other teams.

"It won't be just go and do it for the sake of doing it. It has to be worth it for us. The team has to add value to sustaining the business of Formula 1."

 

So, we would be going back to a basic hybrid system: V8 ICE + KERS and Bio fuel ? No mention of turbo here ...
A step back, IMO, but if that's what the participants want ... why not.

 

Teams appear to agree. Appear. Hes probably half right. Audi in particular are not a fan if his ‘plan’. He’s a snake. His timing is interesting as he now faces a vocal and FIA experienced challenger for the office. 2029 is a long way off yet!

 

A proposal aimed at bringing Formula 1 back to South Africa is set to be assessed by the sport’s commercial rights holder.

The development comes after the South African Formula 1 Bid Steering Committee nominated the proposal it believes most suitable to promote a potential event.