After an incident at this year’s Formula 1 Grand Prix of Spain in Barcelona a good two weeks ago, the World Automobile Federation (FIA) is considering stricter admission restrictions for the starting grid of top international racing series.
At Tuesday’s FIA World Council meeting in Cordoba, Spain, restricting access to the grids of Formula 1, Formula E, WEC and other racing series was one of the issues discussed.
The reason for the talks: when the Formula 1 field was sent on its warm-up lap in Barcelona on June 4, there were guests right on the edge of the track who had been walking around the starting grid just before. One of these guests was footballer Neymar.
As the FIA announced in a statement following Tuesday’s World Council meeting, “the protection of the health and well-being of all participants, be they guests, officials or teams, is the top priority for the FIA”.
FIA President Mohammed Bin Sulayem said in his own words: “We have to learn the lessons from what happened at the Spanish Grand Prix [Formel-1-Boss] Stefano Domenicali assures that measures will be taken to ensure that the incident does not happen again.”
“Not only a problem in Formula 1”
“As my recent experience with too many people on the grid shows, this is not only a problem in Formula 1, but also in Formula E, in the World Endurance Championship and in other racing series,” said Bin Sulayem.
“I have no doubt that in all cases the promoter will comply with FIA safety requirements. It is the duty of the FIA to ensure a safe environment for everyone. Safety in motorsport is the top priority for the world governing body,” he said the FIA President.
Completely independently of this, at its meeting in Cordoba, the FIA World Council decided on two suppliers in connection with the new Formula 1 engine regulations from 2026. The sensors for measuring the loads on the drive units will come exclusively from Bosch. The insulation technology for the new drive units is provided exclusively by Bender.