Regulation changes

Sporting regulations

Teams will be granted an additional quota of some power unit components to compensate for the increased demands of contesting twenty-two races.[40]

Drivers who participate in free practice sessions will be eligible for additional FIA Super Licence points. Any driver who completes a minimum 100 km (62 mi) during a free practice session will receive an additional Super Licence point on the condition that they do not commit a driving infraction.[41] Drivers may only accrue ten Super Licence points per year from free practice sessions.

Mercedes' success in its record-breaking 2019 Formula 1 season means it must pay its highest-ever FIA entry fee for next year, despite scoring fewer points than in 2016.

The FIA mandates a basic fee for all teams to enter the F1 world championship plus extra for each point gained in the previous season, with the constructors' world champion hit with a slightly higher rate per-point.

Mercedes became the first team in F1 history to score six consecutive title doubles by clinching the drivers' and constructors' championships this year. It scored 739 points throughout the season, better than all its title-winning tallies since 2014 except its 765-point haul in 2016.

However, the FIA has slightly increased the points-based fee in the past two years based on the US Consumer Price Index, which means Mercedes must pay more than ever for its F1 entry for 2020, despite scoring fewer points than three years ago.

The FIA has set the basic 2020 entry fee for all teams at $556,509, plus $6,677 per point scored in the 2019 season for the winning constructor and $5,563 per point for everybody else.

That amounts to $4,934,303 for Mercedes' 739-point haul this year, just under $200,000 more than its points-based fee from 2016 and over $600,000 higher than 2019.

It means Mercedes' total entry fee comes to $5,490,812, more than $2million more than the next highest entry fee.

Second-placed finisher in the constructors' championship Ferrari must pay $2.8m for the 504 points it scored this year, taking its total fee to $3.3m.

If Mercedes paid the same per-point rate as its rivals, its entry fee would be more than $800,000 cheaper.

At the other end of the table, the Williams team's poor season means it has comfortably the smallest points-based fee: $5,563 for the point Robert Kubica scored in the German Grand Prix.

Team-by-team entry fee costs for 2020

Team | Points | Points-based fee | Total entry fee

Mercedes | 739 | US$4,934,303 | US$5,490,812

Ferrari | 504 | US$2,803,752 | US$3,360,261

Red Bull | 417 | US$2,319,771 | US$2,876,280

McLaren | 145 | US$806,635 | US$1,363,144

Renault | 91 | US$506,233 | US$1,062,742

Toro Rosso | 85 | US$472,855 | US$1,029,364

Racing Point | 73 | US$406,099 | US$962,608

Alfa Romeo | 57 | US$317,091 | US$873,600

Haas | 28 | US$155,764 | US$712,273

Williams | 1 | US$5,563 | US$562,072

The price of Mercedes’ success (2015-20 entry fees)

Season | Previous year’s points | Points-based entry fee | Cost per point

2015 | 701 | US$4,341,994 | US$6,194

2016 | 703 | US$4,354,382 | US$6,194

2017 | 765 | US$4,738,410 | US$6,194

2018 | 668 | US$4,137,592 | US$6,194

2019 | 655 | US$4,292,215 | US$6,553

2020 | 739 | US$4,934,303 | US$6,677

Formula 1 teams will not be allowed to hide their cars from fans and rival teams during winter testing, following a rule change agreed by the FIA.

Although F1’s regulations force teams to keep cars on display at grand prix weekends, there have previously been no such restrictions in testing.

That means teams, eager to keep their tech developments secret from rivals, have put covers on car parts or kept them completely hidden behind screens during the pre-season build-up.

But at a meeting of the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council, it was agreed that a rule change be introduced that prevents teams from hiding their cars.

A statement from the governing body said that the FIA had approved: “Wording to prevent teams from covering their cars during winter testing, in order to make these events more appealing to the media and fans."

Other changes approved by the FIA including rules regarding the sampling and testing of fuel at events to ensure they comply with reference declarations.

The FIA has also confirmed the appointment of three standard suppliers from 2021. BBS will provide wheel rims, Magneti Marelli will deliver fuel primer pumps and Bosch will supply the high pressure fuel pump and piping.

The new rules mean that the same restrictions team have at F1 events will be in place during the time of track running at the tests.

The rules state that: “no screen, cover or other obstruction which in any way obscures any part of a car will be allowed at any time in the paddock, garages, pit lane or grid, unless it is clear any such covers are needed solely for mechanical reasons."

There are also specific bans on:

* Engine, gearbox or radiator covers whilst engines are being changed or moved around the garage.

* Covers over spare wings when they are on a stand in the pit lane not being used.

* Parts such as (but not limited to) spare floors, fuel rigs or tool trolleys may not be used as an obstruction.

Some covers are allowed including transparent tool trays, rear wing covers to protect mechanics firing up the car, tyre blankets and covers when it is raining.

The FIA has announced that there will be an increase in the allocation of power unit components in 2020, with drivers allowed a third MGU-L without receiving a penalty in 2020

Formula 1 power units are made up of six components which can be changed, the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), Turbocharger, MGU-H, MGU-K, Energy Store and the Control Electronics

The amount that these components can be replaced has changed over the years, with the ICE, Turbocharger and MGU-H being allocated three while the MGU-K, Energy Store and Control Electronics were only allocated two

The FIA’s World Motorsport Council met on Wednesday and confirmed that the MGU-K’s allocation will be increased to three next season in an attempt to reduce the amount of penalties drivers take

Other changes at the meeting see the chequered flag being reinstated to mark the end of a race following the light panel at the Japanese Grand Prix indicating the finish one lap before the end of the race

As well as teams being banned from using screens in front of their garages during pre-season testing, being forced during the local time of 09:00 to 18:00, with the exception of the floor not being fitted to the car or repairs are being completed following a crash.

Formula 1 will stick with 2019-specification Pirelli rubber next year, after teams unanimously voted to reject the new tyres that were being prepared for 2020.

The prototype 2020 spec - which was designed to reduce tyre degradation, provide a wider working range of temperature and lower overheating in dirty air - had made its race weekend debut during free practice in Austin, but earned largely negative reviews from the drivers who had sampled it.

As a result, the possibility of sticking with this year's tyres was broached, and while Pirelli said it would be open to this, it was hopeful that the two-day post-season test in Abu Dhabi would offer a more representative view of the new tyres.

However, Haas driver and GPDA director Romain Grosjean said he was left with largely the same impression at Yas Marina - and the FIA has now confirmed the teams took a "unanimous decision" to stick with the 2019 spec.

"The FIA would like to thank both Pirelli and all the teams for their work and collaboration to improve the tyres for the 2020 season and beyond," the FIA statement added.

"In any case, the lessons learnt will be invaluable for the further improvement of the tyres in the future."

Renault team boss Cyril Abiteboul says he's "exasperated" by fellow Formula 1 teams' refusal to abolish the rule that sees the second qualifying segment dictate the choice of tyre for the race start.

The top three teams have had such a pace advantage this year that their drivers routinely qualified on medium tyres, often leaving just the four drivers starting in sixth to 10th places on softs, while while those behind with a free choice almost always went for mediums or hards.

In Abu Dhabi last weekend, Renault drivers Daniel Ricciardo and Nico Hulkenberg qualified eighth and 10th, but ultimately both slipped out of the points as Sergio Perez and Daniil Kvyat worked their way up the order with a more optimum strategy.

The Enstone-based team did at least secure fifth in the World Championship, which was under threat from Scuderia Toro Rosso

A plan to drop the Q2 tyre rule was discussed by the F1 Strategy Group this year. However, because the April 30th deadline for 2020 sporting regulation changes had passed, unanimity was required, and in the end the top teams and some of their satellites voted against any change. The rule also remains in place for 2021, even though unanimity is not needed at this stage.

“Again we saw a demonstration of that silly regulation of having to start on the soft tyres, which gives such an advantage to the guys behind," Abiteboul told Motorsport.com.

“It was agreed in the Strategy Group, everyone agreed [to bin it]. Then when it comes to a vote, all the arrangements seemed to come back, and frankly I’m exasperated by that.

“There was a lobby from the top teams and their junior teams to stop a change, because it’s a regulation that was engineered by the top teams to protect them. I don’t think they need it, but it’s an extra protection.

“It’s also something that’s helping teams that are customers or are affiliated to the top teams, and the ones that are squeezed are what I call the 'middle class', it’s us and McLaren in most cases.

“In fairness, sometimes it’s been to our advantage, when we were outside the top 10 – Mexico and Suzuka for example. But it’s not because it’s sometimes to our advantage that we should keep it.

"It’s a stupid regulation, it needs to go away. No one is doing anything about it, and frankly I am exasperated to see it happening again.”

It's time to open your 2020 calendar and add an entry to February 11, as that’s the day Ferrari will unveil the car they hope can deliver a first Formula 1 world championship in more than a decade.

During Ferrari’s Christmas media lunch at Maranello, team boss Mattia Binotto revealed the date – making the 2019 constructors’ championship runners up the first team to publicly confirm their plan.

While Ferrari failed to build on pre-season form in the campaign just gone, when they had looked like the team to beat, there was light at the end of the tunnel after the summer break as they won three races in a row.

Ultimately, they came up short again, but there were positives. For one, it became clear they now have the best engine on the grid. For two, Charles Leclerc took more pole positions than anyone else.

Binotto explained Ferrari are changing their strategy next year with regards pre-season, unveiling a launch-spec car earlier than they did this term with further testing, development and tweaks before the first test.

“We will launch the car very early,” said Binotto. “I think we will be the earliest. The reason why we are anticipating the launch and the unveiling and then moving on is we must do some dyno homologations before going to Barcelona.

"We are launching the car on the 11 February 2020. Soon after we've got an intense program of bench [testing] before we go to Barcelona."

Teams will have two fewer days of pre-season testing in Barcelona next year, with the first of two three-day tests running from 19-21 February, and the second from 26-28 February.

The record-breaking 22-race 2020 season begins with the Australian Grand Prix on 15 March. For the full calendar, click here.

Aston Martin has admitted it is in talks with potential "investors". The British luxury carmaker is already the title sponsor at Red Bull, but it is strongly rumoured that Racing Point owner Lawrence Stroll may be interested in buying Aston Martin. The Financial Times now reports that executives for the embattled carmaker have already met with Stroll and other potential investors.

"Of the talks, those with Mr Stroll are at the most advanced level," the report said, citing a source.

Aston Martin responded by saying it is "reviewing its funding requirements and various funding options".

"It is also engaged in early stage discussions with potential strategic investors in relation to building longer term relationships which may or may not involve an equity investment," Aston Martin added.

A spokesman for Racing Point said it would not comment on "speculation and rumours".

Alfa Romeo have failed a crash test ahead of the 2020 season. According to reports from the German Motorsport-Magazin, little was left of the chassis and they will now be working hard to get their car back on track and make up for the time they have lost.

Before a new season and before any cars are allowed on the track, every teams cars are put through an extensive crash test by the FIA. Normally the test runs smoothly but something has gone very wrong for Alfa Romeo.

The problem is reported to be so big that major changes will have to be made to the design of the car if it is to pass the test. This is a massive set back for the team who will not have expected this in their schedule.

We already know that Formula One teams are definitely going to be spending tons of money developing their cars before the cost caps go into effect in 2021—but it sounds like Ferrari is gearing up to spend even more than everyone else. There’s currently no idea how much, but we’re talking taking advantage of a “record” financial year, according to Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri.

“We’re also prepared to invest,” said Camilleri, as reported by Motorsport.com. Not only is Ferrari trying to get a leg up on the competition by developing as much of its 2021 car before the $175 million cost cap is introduced, but it’s also building a brand new simulator rig for drivers to practice on.

Here’s more from the article:
And he’s not wrong. Formula One requires tons of money not only to secure a spot on the grid but also to be competitive. With Ferrari’s dismal 2019 season—it almost would have been able to challenge for a championship if only it had gotten their shit together—dumping money into the game now in order to secure a more competitive future is absolutely the way to go.

McLaren have continued to shuffle their senior management ahead of the 2020 season, with Performance Director Andrea Stella now promoted to Racing Director.

The role, which Eric Boullier departed from in 2018, means that Stella will be "leading the team at race weekends", according to McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown. It comes as part of a major restructuring of the McLaren F1 team's senior management under Andreas Seidl, who joined as Team Principal in early 2019.

Seidl explained: "Motorsport is a team sport. You can never do it alone. I have a very strong line-up of people reporting in to me, with James Key as Technical Director, Piers Thynne as Production Director and Andrea Stella as Racing Director.

"I have full trust in them and their teams in everything they do and therefore they have my full backing. It is crucial to empower people, to encourage them to make decisions, to allow them to take risks and to back them up if it goes wrong because I accept that mistakes can happen. That’s the only way to get better and to improve as a team."

Technical Director Key joined from Toro Rosso in 2019, while Production Director Thynne joined McLaren in 2008, working his way up the ladder to oversee the factory's operations.


Seidl oversaw a change in organisational structure when he joined McLaren from Porsche's endurance racing squad, creating what he described in 2019 as a "simple traditional motorsport organisation", compared to a set-up under Ron Dennis that spread responsibility across managers. They also have a new driving simulator and, in the works, a wind tunnel – though that's a long-term project.

Right now, attention is on the MCL35, McLaren's 2020 F1 challenger, which Mercedes boss Toto Wolff recently revealed he would be keeping a close eye on in winter testing, so impressed was he by McLaren's performance in 2019.

The team have yet to set a date for the new car's unveiling, however, while Brown wasn't bullish about the MCL35's potential. He said: "The rules don’t change a lot, so our goal has to be to continue to incrementally improve.

"[We must] keep our heads down. We’ve still got a lot to work on. We started last season more than 1.5 seconds off pole and towards the end of the year it was as low as eight-tenths. [But] that’s still a big gap we need to close."

Ever since the dawn of the V6 turbo era, the Mercedes F1 team has been running rampant in Formula One, if 6 drivers’ and constructors’ championships were any indications. However, team boss Toto Wolff is still unsure about the German giant’s willingness to stick around beyond the 2020 season.

With the game-changing 2021 season looming on the horizon, there have been several discussions between Liberty Media, Formula One Management and the 10 F1 teams. However, the new Concorde Agreement required compromise from the ‘big’ teams to make F1 more competitive.

Naturally, Mercedes were always going to be affected the most by any potential changes that could be introduced soon. So, this has cast a lot of doubt about Mercedes F1 and its longevity in Formula One, especially since they have other projects running simultaneously.

It is worth noting that Mercedes have a lot to lose from the 2021 changes since they have several back-to-back drivers’ and constructors’ championship doubles. However, on the other end of the spectrum, Toto Wolff is staying positive and is sure that Mercedes will remain as a part of the Formula One fraternity.

Is Formula One the future that Mercedes seeks?

In late 2019, Mercedes officially joined the all-electric series, Formula E, and is one of the four big German manufacturers, alongside Audi, Porsche, and BMW. Technology is advancing so much that there is a danger that fossil fuel could become obsolete and Formula One can only evolve so much. Could we be heading to a future where there will n longer be Formula One and only Formula E? How will the board split their resources between Mercedes F1 and Mercedes FE? Will one have to be sacrificed for the other?

Red Bull have moved early to lock down their star driver Max Verstappen beyond the end of the 2020 season, with the team confirming that the Dutchman has signed a three-season contract extension with the Milton Keynes-based squad.

Even before the engines have been fired up for 2020 pre-season testing, Red Bull have announced an agreement with Verstappen that will keep him at the team until at least the end of the 2023 season, in what will be his eighth as a Red Bull driver.

“I am really happy to extend my partnership with the team,” said Verstappen. “Red Bull believed in me and gave me the opportunity to start in Formula 1, which I have always been very grateful for.

“Honda coming onboard and the progress we have made over the last 12 months gives me even more motivation and the belief we can win together. I respect the way Red Bull and Honda work together and from all sides everyone is doing what they can to success. I want to win with Red Bull and our goal is of course to fight for a world championship together.”

“It is fantastic news for the team to have extended our agreement with Max up to and including the 2023 season,” said Red Bull Team Principal Christian Horner. “With the challenge of the 2021 regulation changes on the horizon, continuity in as many areas as possible is key.

“Max has proven what an asset he is to the team, he truly believes in the partnership we have forged with Honda, and we are delighted to have extended our relationship with him.”

Verstappen was expected to be one of the key cogs in this year’s driver market, with his previous contract only keeping him at Red Bull until the end of the 2020.

But Red Bull’s announcement shuts down rumours linking Verstappen to seats at Ferrari and Mercedes, meaning that the Dutch driver will enter Formula 1’s new era in 2021 with the same team he joined midway through 2016.

He’ll also be powered by Honda, with the Japanese manufacturer having committed to supplying both Red Bull and Toro Rosso with power units until at least the end of 2021.

The Red Bull-Verstappen-Honda alliance proved immediately successful in its first season, with Verstappen taking the first two poles of his career and three victories in 2019, helping him to finish third in the drivers’ standings, his highest-ever placing.

Despite Verstappen’s announcement coming so early in 2020, meanwhile, this year’s driver market still looks set to be an active one, with the likes of Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and Valtteri Bottas all out of contract at the end of this year.

Formula 1 is in danger of its new generation of cars being slower than Formula 2 in 2021, warns Racing Point team principal Otmar Szafnauer.

The FIA and the sport's owners Liberty Media have agreed with the teams a radical new rules package for next year that is aimed at closing up the grid and making the racing more exciting.

But despite the changes being motivated in helping smaller teams like Racing Point, Szafnauer is concerned that 'dumbing down' the rules could have some unintended consequences.

Speaking exclusively to Motorsport.com about whether or not he liked the 2021 plans, Szafnauer said: "I should be. But my fear is we're dumbing down the sport too much for a fallacy of anybody can win on any Sunday.

"If we go six seconds a lap slower, it's not Formula 1 any more. And before you know it, we're going to have to slow F2 down.

"In F2, $2 million will buy a ride, but if we're not careful in 2021, those F2 cars that you spend $2 million on it will be faster than we are with what we're spending $200 million on. There's something wrong about that."

At the F1 season finale in Abu Dhabi, Lewis Hamilton's pole position time of 1m34.779s was 15 seconds clear of Sergio Sette Camara's F2 pole time of 1m49.751s. The slowest F1 car was Robert Kubica whose Williams did a lap time of 1m39.236s.

The gap between F1 and F2 has been closer at other venues though, with just a 10-second difference at Monaco between pole positions – and Kubica being just seven seconds clear of the fastest F2 car.

Szafnauer says he would prefer F1 to be more strict with the budget cap but then open up the design rules to ensure teams can chase optimum performance.

"Personally, I would say smaller budget cap," he said. "But underneath that budget capital, latitude to develop the car as we have today. So if you have a small budget car, the smarter guy wins.

"If you have prescriptive design, then you are IndyCar and if somebody else wins, they have maybe a better driver, or engineering team or whatever. And that's not what we want. There are other formulas in the world that already exists that are like that, and how are they doing?"

Red Bull boss Christian Horner has argued that F1 should have introduced the budget cap before the new rules, to avoid 2020 turning in to a spending war.

Asked if he agreed with that view, Szafnauer said on the cost cap: "Too late maybe, too high definitely.

"I agree with the view that Horner brought up which was we should have the budget cap come in before the regulations change so there isn't one year of high spending, which is next year. I would have staggered it a bit different: first budget cap and then new rules."

At this point, the RoKit Williams F1 team appears to resemble a magnet that has had its polarity reversed. Last year, their title sponsor, Martini abandoned ship, once the holes appeared in the hull. Then, ahead of New Year’s Day, PKN Orlen chose to get on the lifeboat called Alfa Romeo. Now more trouble has arrived for the Grove-based team as another major sponsor has split with them.

Earlier, Sportowe Fakty reported that the likes of Symantec, Omnitude, and Tata have also exited stage left. The most recent departure is deodorant brand Rexona, according to Sportowe. For the past few seasons, the Australian brand had had its logo emblazoned on the Williams F1 livery, but in 2020 it will no longer be seen.

Back in 2015, the deodorant brand switched its backing from the erstwhile Lotus F1 team to Williams, a year after Martini took over as the title sponsor. It is worth noting that the AS newspaper claimed that the Rexona deal was worth EUR 15 million to Williams.

In other words, Rexona was regarded as the team’s second-biggest sponsor behind title backer RoKit. To make matters worse for the British outfit, Williams announced that it has sold the majority of its engineering arm by Christmas Eve. As a result, Williams Advanced Engineering went to a private equity firm.

The only ray of light was that Williams’ loss of sponsors will be compensated by the arrival of Canadian driver Nicholas Latifi. Interestingly, Latifi’s father, Michael bought a $350m stake in McLaren in 2018 and the Woking team has been on the up since last year.

Speaking about Nicholas Latifi, Claire Williams praised him and disclosed that he has become an integral part of the team. She said, “He’s got a great personality, he did a good job in Formula 2, and I think he’ll be instrumental in driving the team forward.”

Evolution, not revolution: that’s the name of the game for F1 in 2020 (the revolution’s coming in 2021). But despite large swathes of rule stability this season, there have still been some subtle tweaks to the regulations over the winter. Here’s what to look out for in 2020.

Chequered flag at the end of races

The 2019 regulations saw the chequered flag replaced by a chequered light panel as the official signal marking the end of the race.

The flag was still seen last year, Jean Alesi most famously flying it for Charles Leclerc’s victory at Monza. But a glitch at the Japanese Grand Prix saw the chequered panel illuminate a lap before the end of the race, causing the official results to be counted from there – hence the revision back to the good old-fashioned flag as the official race-ender for 2020.

Less testing

For 2020, pre-season testing has been reduced from eight days of running to six, with the two three-day tests due to take place at Spain's Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on February 19-21 and February 26-28.

Mid-season testing is out completely, meanwhile, although that should be less of a problem for the teams this year, given that their cars – likely to be evolutions of their 2019 machines – will be pretty well sorted by mid-season.

There’s good news for young drivers, though, with the sporting regulations stipulating that teams have to use one of them (that’s a driver with two or less Grand Prix starts) in at least one day of the post-season Abu Dhabi tests.

Longer curfew

There’s good news for mechanics in the 2020 regulations, who’ll be able to enjoy a (theoretical) extra hour in bed on the Thursday and Friday of race weekends, thanks to the mandatory curfew – during which time teams’ mechanics are forbidden from working on their cars, or even being within the confines of the circuit – being extended from eight hours to nine. Teams are allowed to break the curfew twice in one season without receiving a penalty.

‘Shark fins’

With a look ahead to a design feature that could be on the 2021 cars, for 2020, teams will all have to create a small plate on the engine cover of their cars – similar to McLaren’s early-2019 wedge on the MCL34 – with this ‘shark fin’ set to house the drivers’ numbers, making it easier for fans to distinguish between each team's two machines. There will be very little aerodynamic impact on the cars, mind (except a very mild one during cornering), so don’t expect this rule change to decide any championships!

A relaxing of weighbridge and jump start penalties

When Pierre Gasly missed the display signals calling him to the weighbridge during Free Practice 2 at the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, by the letter of the law the stewards had to punish the Frenchman with a pit-lane start.

Those rules have been softened for 2020, allowing the stewards more discretion and giving them jurisdiction to hand out less strident penalties if they see fit.

Jump starts, too, used to incur either a drive-through or a 10-second stop-go penalty. However, the 2020 regulations give stewards the option to dish out less harsh five- and 10-second race time penalties.

No screens for testing

Traditionally used by teams at testing to keep their shiny new bits under wraps, for 2020 screens at the pre-season tests will be outlawed when the track is live (from 0900 to 1800) to improve the spectacle for fans. Teams will, however, be able to cover up when their car’s floor is not fitted, or if their car is being recovered after stopping out on track.

Restriction on metal in the front wing

No one likes to see a small tag from one car's front wing to another's rear wheel result in a puncture (not least the puncturee...), so to try and limit the risk the rules now dictate that the first 50mm of front wing endplates have to be made purely of carbon fibre. Any metal elements - like fasteners or inserts used to attach the front wing - are only allowed 30mm back from the leading edge of the endplate.

Let’s hope that helps reduce the Ben Hur moments…

Brake ducts are now ‘Listed Parts’

The air ducts used to cool the brakes are now categorised as ‘Listed Parts’, meaning they’ll need to be designed by the teams themselves, rather than bought in from another company or team. Other Listed Parts include: the car’s bodywork, roll structures, front impact structures and the survival cell.

Less electronic meddling in the starts

2020 will see the drivers given even more control over their starts, with 90% of the engine’s torque being controlled directly by the driver’s command on their clutch paddle or paddles (which the rules also now stipulate need to be “pull-type” paddles).

Drivers will still have stall prevention and bite point finder functions available to them – but the onus is now even more on them to make sure they get a good getaway.

An extra MGU-K to play with

Drivers can now use three Motor Generator Unit – Kinetic (or MGU-Ks, to give the part its hipper name) over the course of the season rather than two, bringing the allocation into line with the number of Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), Turbo Charger (TC) and Motor Generator Unit – Heat (MGU-H) elements they’re allowed per year. That should mean less penalties in 2020, given that nine out of the 20 drivers exceeded their MGU-K limit in 2019.

Drivers are still only allowed two Energy Stores and two Control Electronics per year, however.

Less fuel outside the tank

The 2020 Technical Regulations limit the amount of fuel allowed to course around the car outside of the fuel survival cell to just 250ml – down from two litres in 2019 – all of which should be used for “the normal running of the engine”, according to the regs. That’s to deter teams from seeking any potential benefit to be had from keeping large amounts of fuel outside of the tank.