Formula 1 has agreed to delay the introduction of sweeping new regulations until 2022 after Ferrari ended their opposition.
The Italian team was reportedly the only team against the idea when it was first suggested on Wednesday, however, following a video conference between F1 bosses, teams and the FIA on Thursday, the Scuderia joined in voting yes to the change which now has the unanimous support it needed.
The delay is part of the sport’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has now seen the first seven races of the season either postponed or cancelled.
Its objective is to ease the financial burden on smaller teams, who were already facing a tough balancing act in developing both their 2020 and 2021 cars simultaneously and would have faced doing so with even less revenue due to the economic hit on F1.
Instead, now the teams will use the cars created for this year until the end of the 2021 season under tighter development guidelines, with the chassis and gearbox to be frozen.
Speaking to Formula1.com ahead of the Thursday meeting, Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto explained their position.
“We will have a conference call with all the other teams, F1 and FIA to discuss the situation and the impact it has not only on this season but also on the next one,” he commented.
“We must carefully evaluate every aspect and see if it is not really the case to think about possibly postponing the introduction of the new 2021 technical rules.
“In any case, Ferrari is ready to take responsibility for a choice that must be made in the ultimate interest of this sport. It is certainly not the time for selfishness and tactics.”
Another interesting caveat is The Race reports the new financial regulations will still be implemented from next year.
This means the development of the cars to be raced now in 2022 will take place under the $175m budget cap, something smaller teams had been pushing for from the beginning.
Though in theory, it doesn’t stop the top teams from continuing their unlimited spend on development in 2020 before the cap comes into place in 2021.