The FIA has unveiled a series of tweaks to the 2025 Formula 1 regulations governing driver cooling and the application of DRS, and has also revealed revised regulations for 2026.
Following the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council in Rwanda, the expected inclusion of driver cooling – denoted by new “heat hazard” regulations when temperatures at races exceed a certain level – has been ratified along with more stringent rules for DRS.
The new rules dictate that, once the FIA’s official weather radars predict temperatures over 30.5C (or when called by the race director prior to an event, a ‘heat hazard’ will be declared.
This will require the teams to equip the drivers with their cooling systems, and the minimum weight will be raised to 5kg as a result for the full weekend to compensate for the increased mass of driver equipment.
Furthermore, the slot gaps for the rear wing between the two modes of the DRS have been changed, with the minimum gap reduced presumably to cover off any attempts to replicate the “mini-DRS” trick used by McLaren in 2024.
This was a solution where the wing slot gap opened marginally on the straights to reduce drag, most notably seen at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on the rear wing of the two MCL38 cars.
The minimum gap has shrunk from 10-15mm to 9.4-13mm and, with DRS open, the upper boundary remains at 85mm. The FIA has also tightened up the rules on the DRS modes, stating that there must only be two positions – and that ending the application of DRS must return the wing exactly as defined to the initial mode.
More to follow
