Home - The Official Formula 1 Website Skip to content

2007 season changes

Published with permission from the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile.

From the 2007 Formula One Sporting Regulations:

32) FREE PRACTICE

32.1 Free practice sessions will take place:
a) The day after initial scrutineering from 10.00 to 11.30 (P1) and from 14.00 to 15.30 (P2).
b) The day before the race from 11.00 to 12.00 (P3).

25) SUPPLY OF TYRES IN THE CHAMPIONSHIP AND TYRE LIMITATION DURING THE EVENT
25.1 Supply of tyres:
a) Any tyre company wishing to supply tyres to Formula One teams must notify the FIA of its intention to do so no later than 1 January preceding the year during which such tyres will be supplied. Any tyre company wishing to cease the supply of tyres to Formula One teams must notify the FIA of its intention to do so no later than 1 January of the year preceding that in which such tyres were to be supplied.
b) No tyre may be used in the Championship unless the company supplying such tyre accepts and adheres to the following conditions :
- one tyre supplier present in the Championship : this company must equip 100% of the entered teams on ordinary commercial terms and make available identical quantities and specifications of tyres to all teams during a calendar year ;
- two tyre suppliers present : each of them must, if called upon to do so, be prepared to equip up to 60% of the entered teams on ordinary commercial terms ;
- three or more tyre suppliers present : each of them must, if called upon to do so, be prepared to equip up to 40% of the entered teams on ordinary commercial terms ;
- each tyre supplier must undertake to provide no more than two specifications of dry-weather tyre at each Event, each of which must be of one homogenous compound and visibly distinguishable from one another when a car is on the track. Any modification or treatment, other than heating, carried out to a tyre or tyres will be considered a change of specification ;
- each tyre supplier must undertake to provide no more than one specification of wet-weather tyre at each Event which must be of one homogenous compound ;
- each tyre supplier must undertake to provide no more than one specification of extreme-weather tyre at each Event which must be of one homogenous compound ;
- if, in the interests of maintaining current levels of circuit safety, the FIA deems it necessary to reduce tyre grip, it shall introduce such rules as the tyre suppliers may advise or, in the absence of advice which achieves the FIA's objectives, specify the maximum permissible contact areas for front and rear tyres.

25.2 Type of tyres:
a) All dry-weather tyres must incorporate circumferential grooves square to the wheel axis and around the entire circumference of the contact surface of each tyre.
b) Each front dry-weather tyre, when new, must incorporate 4 grooves which are :
- arranged symmetrically about the centre of the tyre tread ;
- at least 14mm wide at the contact surface and which taper uniformly to a minimum of 10mm at the lower surface;
- at least 2.5mm deep across the whole lower surface ;
- 50mm (+/- 1.0mm) between centres.
Furthermore, the tread width of the front tyres must not exceed 270mm.
c) Each rear dry-weather tyre, when new, must incorporate 4 grooves which are:
- arranged symmetrically about the centre of the tyre tread ;
- at least 14mm wide at the contact surface and which taper uniformly to a minimum of 10mm at the lower surface ;
- at least 2.5mm deep across the whole lower surface ;
- 50mm (+/- 1.0mm) between centres.
The measurements referred to in b) and c) above will be taken when the tyre is fitted to a wheel and inflated to 1.4 bar.
d) A wet-weather tyre is one which has been designed for use on a wet or damp track.
All wet-weather tyres must, when new, have a contact area which does not exceed 280cm² when fitted to the front of the car and 440cm² when fitted to the rear. Contact areas will be measured over any square section of the tyre which is normal to and symmetrical about the tyre centre line and which measures 200mm x 200mm when fitted to the front of the car and 250mm x 250mm when fitted to the rear. For the purposes of establishing conformity, void areas which are less than 2.5mm in depth will be deemed to be contact areas.
Prior to use at an Event, each tyre manufacturer must provide the technical delegate with a full scale drawing of each type of wet-weather tyre intended for use.
e) An extreme-weather tyre is one which has been designed for use on a wet track.
All extreme-weather tyres must, when new, have a contact area which does not exceed 240cm² when fitted to the front of the car and 375cm² when fitted to the rear. Contact areas will be measured over any square section of the tyre which is normal to and symmetrical about the tyre centre line and which measures 200mm x 200mm when fitted to the front of the car and 250mm x 250mm when fitted to the rear. For the purposes of establishing conformity, void areas which are less than 5.0mm in depth will be deemed to be contact areas.
Prior to use at an Event, each tyre manufacturer must provide the technical delegate with a full scale drawing of each type of extreme-weather tyre intended for use.
f) Tyre specifications will be determined by the FIA no later than 1 September of the previous season. Once determined in this way, the specification of the tyres will not be changed during the Championship season without the agreement of the Formula One Commission.

25.3 Quantity of tyres:
During the Event no driver may use more than fourteen sets of dry-weather tyres, five sets of wet-weather tyres and four sets of extreme-weather tyres.
No driver may use more than two sets of each specification of dry-weather tyre during P1 and P2.
No driver may use more than one set of wet and one set of extreme-weather tyres during P1 and P2.
A set of tyres will be deemed to comprise two front and two rear tyres all of which must be of the same specification.

25.4 Control of tyres:
a) The outer sidewall of all tyres which are to be used at an Event must be marked with a unique identification.
b) Other than in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the stewards of the meeting), all tyres intended for use at an Event must be presented to the FIA technical delegate for allocation prior to the end of initial scrutineering.
c) At any time during an Event, and at his absolute discretion, the FIA technical delegate may select alternative dry-weather tyres to be used by any team or driver from among the relevant stock of tyres which such team's designated supplier has present at the Event.
d) A competitor wishing to replace one unused tyre by another identical unused one must present both tyres to the FIA technical delegate.
e) The use of tyres without appropriate identification may result in deletion of the relevant driver's qualifying time or exclusion from the race.
f) The only permitted type of tyre heating devices are blankets which use resistive heating elements.

25.5 Use of tyres:
a) Each team will be allocated eight sets of dry-weather tyres, four of each specification, for use during P1 and P2. These are the only dry-weather tyres which may be used during these sessions and must be returned to the tyre supplier before the start of P3.
b) Each driver will be allocated ten further sets of dry-weather tyres, five of each specification, for use during the remainder of the Event. However, one set of each specification must be returned to the tyre supplier before the start of the qualifying practice session and may not be used during the remainder of the Event.
c) Each team will be allocated two sets of wet and two sets of extreme-weather tyres for use during P1 and P2. These are the only wet and extreme-weather tyres which may be used during these sessions and, unless they remain unused, must be returned to the tyre supplier before the start of P3.
d) Each driver will be allocated four further sets of wet-weather tyres and three sets of extreme-weather tyres for use during the remainder of the Event. Unused wet or extreme-weather tyres which were allocated for use during P1 and P2 may form part of this allocation.
e) Prior to the start of the qualifying practice session wet and extreme-weather tyres may only be used after the track has been declared wet by the race director, following which extreme, wet or dryweather tyres may be used for the remainder of the session.
f) Unless he has used wet or extreme-weather tyres during the race, each driver must use at least one set of each specification of dry-weather tyres during the race.

25.6 Wear of tyres:
The Championship will be contested on grooved tyres. The FIA reserve the right to introduce at any time a method of measuring remaining groove depth if performance appears to be enhanced by high wear or by the use of tyres which are worn so that the grooves are no longer visible.

40) SAFETY CAR
40.1 The FIA safety car will be driven by an experienced circuit driver. It will carry an FIA observer capable of recognising all the competing cars, who is in permanent radio contact with race control.

40.2 30 minutes before the start of the formation lap the safety car will take up position at the front of the grid and remain there until the five minute signal is given. At this point (except under 40.16 below) it will cover a whole lap of the circuit and enter the pit lane.

40.3 The safety car may be brought into operation to neutralise a race upon the order of the clerk of the course. It will be used only if competitors or officials are in immediate physical danger but the circumstances are not such as to necessitate suspending the race.

40.4 When the order is given to deploy the safety car the message "SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED" will be displayed on the timing monitors and all marshal's posts will display waved yellow flags and "SC" boards for the duration of the intervention.

40.5 The safety car will start from the pit lane with its orange lights illuminated and will join the track regardless of where the race leader is.

40.6 From the time at which the "SAFETY CAR DEPLOYED" message is displayed no car may enter the pit lane for the purpose of refuelling until all cars on the track have formed up in a line behind the safety car and the message "PIT LANE OPEN" is shown on the timing monitors. A ten second time penalty (see Article 16.3b) will be imposed on any driver who enters the pit lane and whose car is refuelled before the second message is shown on the timing monitors.
However, any car which was in the pit entry or pit lane when the safety car was deployed will not incur a penalty. If it is deemed necessary for the safety car to use the pit lane (see 40.11 below) cars following it will not incur a penalty but may not stop in their designated garage areas for the purpose of refuelling until the message "PIT LANE OPEN" is shown on the timing monitors.
A ten second time penalty will be imposed on any driver who stops in his designated garage area and whose car is refuelled before the second message is shown on the timing monitors.

40.7 Any car being driven unnecessarily slowly, erratically or which is deemed potentially dangerous to other drivers at any time whilst the safety car is deployed will be reported to the stewards. This will apply whether any such car is being driven on the track, the pit entry or the pit lane.

40.8 All competing cars must then form up in line behind the safety car no more than 5 car lengths apart and overtaking, with the following exceptions, is forbidden until the cars reach the Line after the safety car has returned to the pits. Overtaking will be permitted under the following circumstances:
- if a car is signalled to do so from the safety car ;
- under 40.16 below ;
- any car entering the pits may pass another car or the safety car remaining on the track after it has crossed the first safety car line ;
- any car leaving the pits may be overtaken by another car on the track before it crosses the second safety car line ;
- when the safety car is returning to the pits it may be overtaken by cars on the track once it has crossed the first safety car line ;
- any car stopping in its designated garage area whilst the safety car is using the pit lane (see 40.11 below) may be overtaken ;
- if any car slows with an obvious problem.

40.9 When ordered to do so by the clerk of the course the observer in the car will use a green light to signal to any cars between it and the race leader that they should pass. These cars will continue at reduced speed and without overtaking until they reach the line of cars behind the safety car.

40.10 The safety car shall be used at least until the leader is behind it and all remaining cars are lined up behind him. Once behind the safety car, the race leader must keep within 5 car lengths of it (except under 40.13 below) and all remaining cars must keep the formation as tight as possible.

40.11 Subject to the requirements of 40.6 above, whilst the safety car is in operation, competing cars may enter the pit lane, but may only rejoin the track when the green light at the end of the pit lane is on. It will be on at all times except when the safety car and the line of cars following it are about to pass or are passing the pit exit . A car rejoining the track must proceed at an appropriate speed until it reaches the end of the line of cars behind the safety car.
Under certain circumstances the clerk of the course may ask the safety car to use the pit lane. In these cases, and provided it's orange lights remain illuminated, all cars must follow it into the pit lane without overtaking. Subject to the requirements of 40.6 above, any car entering the pit lane under these circumstances may stop at its designated garage area.

40.12 When the clerk of the course considers it safe to do so, and the message "LAPPED CARS MAY NOW OVERTAKE" is shown on the timing monitors, any lapped cars which were between the cars running on the lead lap at the time the safety car was deployed (and also remain in that position) will be required to pass the cars on the lead lap and the safety car. They must then proceed around the track at an appropriate speed, without overtaking, and take up position at the back of the line of cars behind the safety car.

40.13 When the clerk of the course calls in the safety car, it must extinguish its orange lights, this will be the signal to the drivers that it will be entering the pit lane at the end of that lap. At this point the first car in line behind the safety car may dictate the pace and, if necessary, fall more than five car lengths behind it. As the safety car is approaching the pit entry the yellow flags and SC boards will be withdrawn and replaced by waved green flags with green lights at the Line. These will be displayed until the last car crosses the Line.

40.14 Each lap completed while the safety car is deployed will be counted as a race lap.

40.15 If the race ends whilst the safety car is deployed it will enter the pit lane at the end of the last lap and the cars will take the chequered flag as normal without overtaking.

40.16 In exceptional circumstances the race may be started behind the safety car. In this case, at any time before the one minute signal its orange lights will be turned on. This is the signal to the drivers that the race will be started behind the safety car. When the green lights are illuminated the safety car will leave the grid with all cars following in grid order no more than 5 car lengths apart. There will be no formation lap and race will start when the green lights are illuminated.
Overtaking, during the first lap only, is permitted if a car is delayed when leaving its grid position and cars behind cannot avoid passing it without unduly delaying the remainder of the field. In this case, drivers may only overtake to re-establish the original starting order.
Any driver who is delayed leaving the grid may not overtake another moving car if he was stationary after the remainder of the cars had crossed the Line, and must form up at the back of the line of cars behind the safety car. If more than one driver is affected, they must form up at the back of the field in the order they left the grid.
Either of the penalties under Articles 16.3a) or b) will be imposed on any driver who, in the opinion of the Stewards, unnecessarily overtook another car during the first lap.

19) CHANGES OF DRIVER
19.1 a) During a season each team will be permitted to use four drivers. Changes may be made at any time before the start of the qualifying practice session provided any change proposed after 16.00 on the day of scrutineering receives the consent of the stewards.
Additional changes for reasons of force majeure will be considered separately.
Any new driver may score points in the Championship.
b) In addition to the above each team will be permitted to run additional drivers during P1 and P2 provided :
- the stewards are informed which cars and drivers each team intends to use in each session before the end of initial scrutineering, changes after this time may only be made with the consent of the stewards ;
- no more than two drivers are used in any one session ;
- they are in possession of a Super Licence.
c) If one of the team's nominated drivers is unable to drive at some stage after the end of initial scrutineering, and the stewards consent to a change of driver, the replacement driver must use the engine and tyres which were allocated to the original driver (see Articles 25.3 and 28.4).

From the 2007 Formula One Technical Regulations:

ENGINE - full details to follow


8.4 Track signal information display:
All cars must be fitted with red, blue and yellow cockpit lights the purpose of which are to give drivers information concerning track signals or conditions. The lights must be LEDs each with a minimum diameter of 5mm and which are fitted in order that they are directly in the driver's normal line of sight.
Details of the light control system, which must be fitted to every car, may be found in the Appendix to these regulations.

8.5 Medical warning system:
In order to give rescue crews an immediate indication of accident severity each car must be fitted with a warning light which is connected to the FIA data logger.
The light must face upwards and be recessed into the top of the survival cell no more than 150mm from the car centre line and the front of the cockpit opening and as near to the marshal neutral switch, as described in article 9.2, as is practical.
Details of the light and its control system may be found in the Appendix to these regulations.