Formula 1 teams will be able to field their 2018-spec cars next year at demonstration events organised by the commercial rights holders, thanks to a new FIA ruling which relaxes the restriction on testing current cars.
The FIA announced the new ruling at the World Motor Sport Council, which will assist F1’s owners Liberty Media in creating further demonstration events after the success of London’s F1 Live event in July.
Currently, F1 teams are severely restricted in the amount of running they can perform with their current-spec cars, as well as year-old cars.
Notably, the Haas F1 Team was unable to participate in London as a result of having no older machinery, and the new rules should make it easier for more teams to take part with current cars.
The regulations previously stated that teams were unable to run any more than two “demo” days between the final race of the season and the end of the year, with a 15km restriction.
Although the 15km restriction remains, the rules now state that track layouts approved for F1 use are no longer allowed, meaning that demo runs may only take place at events organised by Liberty Media – the current commercial rights holder. This brings an end to any celebration demos that a team may wish to run at the end of the year.
