Formula 1: ‘Rookie race’ plan delayed until at least 2025
Formula 1 bosses have delayed a plan to host an end-of-season race for aspiring drivers until at least 2025.
The idea, dubbed the ‘rookie race’, was to host a sprint-type event at the post-season test in Abu Dhabi to give young drivers a better opportunity to demonstrate their qualifications to race in F1.
But a meeting of the F1 Commission on Wednesday decided that more time was needed to ensure the idea worked as effectively as possible.
A statement from the FIA said: “While the concept received widespread support, it was determined that, due to timing and organisational constraints, the event would not take place in 2024, and discussions would continue to formulate a potential concept and plan for 2025.”
Teams, governing body the FIA and commercial rights holder Liberty Media – the three parties that comprise the F1 Commission – agreed that there was a feeling the plan was being rushed.
Among the concerns was the load imposed on team members who will already have done the longest season in history and would be forced to stay out in Abu Dhabi after the final race for this new event.
There are also implications on freight and other logistics, as well as how the event would be televised, and ensuring it was appealing for any audience.
There is no guarantee that the event will take place in 2025 but the intention is that it will.
The idea for the race arose out of general concern that young drivers get little opportunity to prove their worth in F1 machinery because of the limitations on testing that have been imposed in recent years on cost grounds.
A race for young drivers in contemporary cars just days after the final grand prix of the season in there could provide an effective way for teams to assess the abilities of drivers.
The latest idea had been that would be that there would be a shorter qualifying session and race of similar length to those added into the format for ‘sprint’ weekends.
Among other subjects discussed at the F1 Commission, it was agreed to revise the 2026 regulations, which feature major changes to both chassis and engines, to increase the cars’ expected aerodynamic performance.
This comes after teams expressed concerns that the 2026 cars would be too slow, and follows collaboration work between the FIA and the teams.
In addition, revisions to both the sporting and financial regulations were agreed – on the sporting side “seeking to simplify their structure” and on the budget cap rules to “provide a competitive balance between sporting fairness and financial sustainability”.
No details were provided.
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