Changes for 2004 Formula One Season

By Andrew Hooper
December 27 2003

   
Changes for 2004
 
For the 2004 Formula One season the FIA has instigated a new series of rule changes covering changes to the number of engines that can be used over a weekend to the timing of the various practice and qualifying sessions.

Here is a summary of the major changes that will be taking pace in 2004.

Use of One-Engine per Grand Prix weekend:
Probably the most dramatic change to occur is the new rule that sees only one engine per driver per race weekend will be available. If a driver is forced to change to a spare engine they will lose ten places on the starting grid.

All the Formula One teams are testing with the aim of improving the reliability of their engines, taking their life from 400 kilometres to over 800.

Changes to the race weekend Schedule:

On Friday there will be two one hour practice sessions, rather than the single one in 2003. Those sessions will run from 11.00-12.00 and 14.00-15.00.

For those teams outside the top four in the 2003, previous years', constructors championship will be allowed to run a third car.

The drivers of these cars can not be one of the team’s nominated drivers for the event, must be in possession of a Super Licence, and can not have taken part in more than six World Championship Events during the two previous World Championships.

For Saturday there will also be two forty five minute practice sessions, with one running from 10.00-10.45 and the other from 11.15-12.00.

Following these practice sessions qualifying will commence at 14.00. There will be two parts, separated by two minutes.

In the first part each driver will carry out a single timed lap. They will run in the order in which they finished in the previous race. At the first race of the year the order of the last Event of the previous year’s World Championship will be used.

If any driver does not complete a timed lap in the first part they will not be allowed to take part in the second. The running order for the second part will be determined by the times achieved in the first part except the runner order will be reversed, ie slowest will run first and fastest last.

As in 2003 Sunday will see the race start at 14.00.

Pitlane Speed Limit:

Another change is that of the Pit lane speed limit. For qualifying and race will be raised to 100 km/h. A lower limit may be applied at tracks which have narrow pit lanes, such as Monaco.

Tyres:

As for tyres the number of dry-weather tyres available to each driver will remain the same at forty, twenty front and twenty rear. The choice of dry-weather tyre for qualifying and race must be made by 09.00 on Saturday. However, if both Friday sessions are declared wet this choice may be postponed until 13.00 on Saturday. The number of wet-weather tyres available to each driver will remain the same at twenty-eight, fourteen front and fourteen rear.

Parc fermé:

Parc fermé procedures will remain the same as in 2003 but the practice of fuel circulation for the purposes of cooling will now be prohibited.

The teams will be allowed to use four drivers during each season, not including any third driver running in the Friday sessions.
 
 
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