The FIA changed the rules for the 2025 F1 Grand Prix season, but that’s not unusual. The FIA F1 rules and regulations for the Formula One World Championship are updated yearly.
The changes this year are relatively minor, especially considering that the rules and regulations for the 2026 season will change significantly with the debut of a new generation of Grand Prix race cars.
Most 2025 rule changes are minor, but a few will change the operation and scoring of Grands Prix, including the elimination of a Championship point awarded for the fastest lap during a Grand Prix and changes in racecar technical specifications related to driver cooling when ambient temperatures are too hot. The entry fees teams pay to participate in the World Championship have also changed.
What is the FIA, and why do F1 rules change each year?
Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) is the primary motorsports governing body in the world. As such, the FIA is charged with keeping Formula 1 racing competitive, regulated, and safe.
Each year, the FIA publishes two versions of the F1 Rules and Regulations for the following year. The FIA published the first draft of the rules changes for the 2025 season on July 31, 2024, and the final draft on December 11, 2024. The FIA must publish the rules changes on schedule because teams need the time to make any required technical changes to their race cars or operations to be ready for the season opening in March.
The FIA publishes three separate sections of rules and regulations: Technical, Sporting, and Financial. The final versions of the three documents are a combined 340 pages.
In the following sections, I’ll highlight the significant changes in each of the three sections, skipping the lesser changes that may involve slight variations in measurements or accounting and reporting practices, for two examples. The included updates are in the order they appear in the respective regulations, with index numbers for those who wish to read more from the source documents.
2025 FIA F1 Technical rules and regulations changes
The following are changes in the 178-page 2025 FIA Formula 1 Technical Regulations.
Floor bodywork apertures (3.5.8)
Driver cooling in hot weather has been an issue in recent years. This change specifies the total area allowable on each side o the car.
Driver Cooling Scoop (3.6.5)
This change specifies the allowable size and positioning of the scoop.
Rear wing profiles (3.10.1)
The concern is the minimum size of the gap between the two sections of a rear wing when it is not deployed in the DRS (Drag Reduction System) zone.
Drag Reduction System (DRS) (3.10.10)
This section details several requirements in the measurements and timing of DRS bodywork changes.
Minimum mass and mass distribution (4.1 and 4.2)
The minimum mass must be at least 800kg, a 2 kg increase. The two changes also refer to a Heat Hazard Mass increase, which is added when a Heat Hazard has been officially proclaimed.
Ballast (4.4)
Ballast can be used to meet the mass requirements, but a new rule specifies it must stay in place if one of its attachment points is removed. The ballast must withstand a 100g acceleration (usually due to impact from a collision) in any direction. This change aims to prevent ballast from dislodging and flying through the air with the chance of causing further injury.
Heat Hazard mass increase (4.7)
This new section specifies the allowable mass of a Heat Hazard device or structure.
Wheel attachment and retention (10.9.2)
Specifies that other than manual torque wrenches, devices used to remove or fit wheels to a race car during a pit stop must be powered by compressed air or nitrogen only. This rule now applies during qualifying and race sessions for both Sprints and Grands Prix.
Position of pedals (12.5.5)
Specifies the face position of the brake pedal to allow full pedal movement.
Unspecified driver cooling system (13.5.1 and 13.6.3)
Sections referring to side and front impact structures not that specifications for a driver cooling system have not been completed).
Driver cooling systems (14.6)
This section is a work in progress with many specifications, but from the notes mentioned above, testing on the driver cooling system specifications is incomplete.
Power unit parts (pages 168-169)
This addendum references article 40.3 in the Sporting regulations, which refers to the operating rules when replacing power unit components.
2025 FIA F1 Sporting rules and regulations changes
The following are changes in the 109-page 2025 FIA Formula 1 Sporting Regulations.
Fastest lap (6.4)
F1 drivers who finish in the top ten places in a Grand Prix will no longer be awarded one Championship point if they achieve the fastest lap in the race. This change is notable because it is likely in response to drivers who weren’t going to finish in a top position taking an extra pit stop for new tires at the end of the race with a light fuel load to achieve the fastest lap time to help the team with the extra point.
Testing Previous Cars (TCP) (10.2)
Drivers are not allowed unlimited access to the current race cars, but they can drive
Testing Current Cars (TCC) opportunities (10.8)
This section specifies precisely when, where, and how drivers can drive the TCCs – the current cars.
Driver adjustable bodywork (22.1)
This section specifies that under conditions of poor visibility, the Race Director, an F1 official, can disable the adjustment systems of any bodywork that can be adjusted by the driver.
Power unit maintenance during factory shutdowns (25.4)
Teams are not able to work on race cars during factory shutdowns. The section specifies an exception for charging or balancing Energy Stores (batteries).
Heat Hazard (26.19)
This section specifies the conditions under which the Race Director can declare a Heat Hazard and the components that must be added or adjusted to the cars.
Driver classification during qualifying sessions (39.4 a)
The section clarifies the process for determining driver order in race qualifying when more than one of the drivers did not finish.
The starting grid for a Sprint or Race (42.1 to 42.2)
If, for some reason, a qualifying session is impossible before a Sprint or a Grand Prix, this section specifies how the track officials will determine the starting order based on the drivers’ current point standing.
Driver penalties (54.4 e)
If a driver breaches or fails to comply with a penalty, that may result in a further penalty. This change is likely due to stacked penalties during at least two races during the 2024 season.
Resuming a Sprint or Race (58.1, 58.3)
If a Sprint or Race is delayed due to weather or any other reason, these changes specify how lights on the Safety will indicate what is happening.
X2025 Formula One World Championship entry fees (Appendix 4)
Each year, the fees increase to enter a team in the Championship for the season. There are many other costs, but the fees are based on finishing position in the previous year’s Championship.
For 2025, the 2024 Constructor’s Championship winner must pay a US $680,203 basic fee and US $8,161 for every point in the 2024 season. All other teams must pay the same basic fee plus US $6,799 for each point from the 2024 season.
2025 FIA F1 Financial rules and regulations changes
There were no changes in the 53-page 2025 FIA Formula 1 Financial Regulations. This document deals largely with the required cost cap for funds teams spend to develop and operate their race cars. Many other costs are excluded from the cost caps, but the purpose of the cap is to prevent richer teams from having an unfair advantage of teams with relatively limited budgets.
The Cost Cap (2.3)
The reference to limited budgets may seem ironic when you consider that the cost cap for the 2025 season is $140,400,000 per team. This amount is determined with a starting amount of $135 million for a season of 21 races, adjusted up or down by $1.8 million for each race less than or more than 21.
