The FIA have approved safety changes following meetings held in response to Guanyu Zhou’s crash at the British Grand Prix.
At the start of the race at Silverstone, the Alfa Romeo driver’s car flipped upside down across the gravel and bounced over the tyre barrier into the fencing that separates the track from the stands.
The rookie was thankfully able to walk away from the crash without any serious injuries, but it was concerning to see a car flip and bounce like that nonetheless.
The FIA analysed the incident shortly afterwards, and one thing highlighted in said analysis was how the roll hoop came off the Alfa Romeo during the crash.
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That was seen as a concern, with it being felt that such a part should have been able to resist the level of force that it experienced.
As a result, the analysts called for action that would ensure F1 teams made the roll hoops on their cars significantly stronger.
The governing body then called three Technical Advisory Committee meetings to discuss the matter further and have now released a statement explaining what was agreed in them.
The statement reads as follows:
“Following a review of the above information, the World Council approved these changes to the 2023 Formula 1 Technical Regulations:
“A change to require a rounded top of the roll hoop, which will reduce the chance of it digging into the ground during an accident.
“A change to ensure a minimum height for the point of application of the homologation test.
“Creation of a new physical homologation test where the load pushes the roll hoop in the forward direction.
“Definition of new tests to be carried out by calculation.
“As a medium-term objective, for 2024 the intention is to proceed to a significant overhaul of the roll hoop tests to ensure cars in the future resist significantly more severe loads.”
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Changes to the 2023 regulations were not the only things announced with the highly anticipated 2026 power-unit regulations also being confirmed.
There was such anticipation surrounding them because it was widely believed that such an announcement would be followed by confirmation that Porsche would be joining the F1 grid that year, and that seems to be the case.
Various leaked documents have all but confirmed that they’ll become Red Bull’s engine supplier and will buy 50% of the team.