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F1 2025: New season, new rules

Writer's picture: DIVEBOMB MotorsportDIVEBOMB Motorsport

Written by Katie Jeromson, Edited by Julia Bissessar


When F1 takes to the grid at Albert Park, a few things will be different for the new season
Credit: Mercedes AMG F1 Team

The 2025 F1 season is fast approaching and with every new season comes some new rules and regulations. From strategy to safety, here’s what to look out for this year and beyond.



The big rule change for the 2025 F1 season: Axing the fastest lap point


First up, hopefully you’ve said goodbye to the fastest lap point, because that is the first casualty of the 2025 Formula One season. No more last lap heroics to swap for some soft compounds and light up the track, snagging that all so important championship point.


Some fans may be glad to hear this, as may some members of the paddock who think the point has been getting used to one’s tactical advantage.


One potential example is from Daniel Ricciardo’s final outing with Visa Cash App RB at the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix. He took the fastest lap from McLaren’s Lando Norris, and in the process, tumbled down the order due to pitting for fresh tyres. But why was that a big deal?


No more fastest lap points for 2025 will mean fewer glory runs on the final lap from teams.
Credit: Mark Thompson/Getty Images via Red Bull Content Pool

The decision to do a fastest lap attempt was called into question, as Visa Cash App RB had nothing to gain from the move, as you must be in the top ten to capitalise on that point. However, in taking the point away from Norris, it helped sister team Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and his bid for his fourth World Driver’s Championship title. 


McLaren Team Boss Andrea Stella commented that he was a “little surprised that the highest priority of RB racing in Singapore was to go and score the fastest lap of the race.” This comment seems to suggest he thought there were some tactics at play between the two teams.


Shortly after the Singapore Grand Prix, the news broke that it was Ricciardo’s final race and perhaps the decision to allow a lap of glory made more sense. However, it has raised a question of how these fastest laps can be used tactically, as there are connections up and down the grid.


In fact many teams are customers of others, for example McLaren running a Mercedes powered engine or Haas’ technical partnership with Ferrari.


Circumstances such as these may be one reason this regulation change has come, but it will make point scoring, by any amount, even more vital. The one lap heroics will have to instead come in qualifying to set the lower-scoring teams up for points contention. 



Fresher faces


In 2025, we can expect more rookie appearances in the first practice session of a race weekend. The new requirement on teams has increased from one session per car during the season, to two sessions per car.


This change will mean teams may need to be more tactical about where they fulfill this requirement in order to not lose important practice sessions with their full-time drivers.


Rookies have to take to the car more often in FP1 in 2025.
Credit: Alpine F1 Team

Some teams opt to put their reserve driver in the seat, such as Jack Doohan running for Alpine, in first practice at the 2024 British Grand Prix. Or they may look to drivers in their junior programmes or racing in feeder series, such as Formula Two.


It can be a great opportunity to get a feel for how a driver may handle F1, without having to take a leap too soon. Or, you may just want next year’s driver to get in some practice, much like Mercedes getting their 2025 rookie driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli on track, in both Monza and Mexico City.


For the past two seasons, there haven't been many seats available in F1. Many feeder series champions have had to look elsewhere for opportunities. For example, 2023 Champion Théo Pourchaire became a reserve driver for Sauber, whilst still in his Championship winning season.


However no seat materialised and he has now parted ways from Sauber, instead looking at the World Endurance Championship with Peugeot.


With five rookies on this grid this year, plus Liam Lawson with some experience, it could mean that more fresh faces will get their first taste of Formula One. Fingers crossed that more opportunities for newer drivers means more diverse talent in seasons to come.



Time to chill out


We also have a new addition to the regulations for driver safety, in what has been dubbed the ‘heat hazard’ rule. 


Following the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, we saw several drivers’ health suffering due to extreme heat and humidity, as temperatures in the cockpit soared to above 50 degrees Celsius.


Esteban Ocon admitted to vomiting in his helmet, Logan Sargeant retired with severe dehydration, Lance Stroll was passing out in the car and we saw drivers like Alex Albon needing assistance to just get out the car. Understandably, something needed to be done, beyond the cooling scoop that was added to cars’ body work in 2024.


Teams will be required to add more cooling at venues with ambient temperature higher than 30.5*C
Credit: Alpine F1 Team

The new regulations mean that once temperatures reach 30.5 degrees Celsius, the teams are required to add cooling measures to the car for the health of their drivers. To ensure that adequate measures are put in place, the minimum weight of the car is increased by five kilograms.


​​Nikolas Tombazis, the FIA’s single-seater director, has explained that the FIA will declare the conditions as extreme and this will allow for car cooling solutions and equipment like cooling vests for drivers.



Back in the garage


The FIA is also using the new season as an opportunity to tighten up on technical specifications to minimise potential rule bending. 


One such tweak this year is regarding the drag reduction system (DRS) and the minimum gap allowed between the two main elements of the rear wing, known as the wing slot gap.


This gap is reduced from 10-15mm down to 9.4-13mm, when the DRS is closed, in order to reduce the chance of a mini DRS effect. The FIA has also specified that DRS should only have two modes, open and closed.


At the 2024 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, concerns were voiced over the rear wing of Oscar Piastri’s McLaren when it appeared to be flexing and creating a larger wing slot gap. It was argued that this gave him a straight line benefit over Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, which was potentially pivotal in Piastri’s race win.


Whilst McLaren were clear that no guidelines were broken, the team did come to an agreement with the FIA to firm up the wing, which perhaps ultimately led to this year’s regulations.


Piastri's drive to victory in Baku was stellar, but the rear wing caught eyes from all corners
Credit: Scuderia Ferrari

As always, the teams will be looking for ways to work with new rules throughout the 2025 season, but they will already have an eye on 2026. From January 1st 2025, teams can begin work on the next season's new car and implement changes to aid in their goal of coming out on top in a new era of F1.


But between now and then, there are 24 thrilling weekends of racing to come, with only one team and one driver able to call themselves World Champions.




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