F1 technical rules
A number of technical changes have made for the 2018 season starting with changes to regulations regarding a loophole in the 2017 regulations that allowed teams to develop the centre of the car which lead to T-wings and the shark-finned engine covers.
For 2018 the regulations have been tightened and the use of T-wings and shark fins outlawed.
The main change which has caused a lot of controversy is the introduction of the halo. This will provide extra cockpit protection to improve driver safety. The halo has a centre pillar in front of the driver with a loop around the drivers head.
Teams are allowed to modify the surface so we may see some new aero elements during the season.
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F1 sporting regulations for 2018
For the 2018 season, drivers are only allowed 3 engines over the 21 races. In 2017 the drivers were allowed 4 engines over 20 races. How this will affect performance and pace will be interesting to see. But clearly engines will not be pushed to the maximum across the full race, which could cause some frustration to drivers and fans!
The new engine regulation will undoubtedly lead to more grid penalties which has lead to a simpler penalty system for 2018. Now drivers who have amassed a 15 or more grid penalties will simply start at the back of the grid. If more than one driver has 15 or more grid penalties they will line up in the order they received the penalties.
Tyre choice for the new Formula one season could get interesting with a further choice of tyre compounds. A new pink marked hypersoft tyre and a super hard tyre will be introduced. The super hard will take on the orange mark and the hard tyre will have an ice blue marking. The total number of dry weather compounds for 2018 is seven. Teams will now choose three dry weather compounds for each race.
Circuit changes for 2018
France and Germany return for the 2018 season making a total of 21 races with Malaysia being dropped from the calendar.
France returns to the F1 calendar after 10 years with the race being held at the Paul Ricard circuit near Marseille. The Paul Ricard circuit last hosted an F1 race in 1990.
The German grand prix will be held at Hockenheim on 22nd July.
Full list of races..
| Dates | Venue | Formula 1 Grand Prix |
|---|---|---|
| 25th March | Melbourne | Australia |
| 8th April | Shanghai | China |
| 15th April | Sakhir | Bahrain |
| 29th April | Baku | Azerbaijan |
| 13th May | Barcelona | Spain |
| 27th May | Monaco | Monaco |
| 10th June | Montreal | Canada |
| 24th June | Le Castellet | France |
| 1st July | Spielberg | Austria |
| 8th July | Silverstone | Great Britain |
| 22nd July | Hockenheim | Germany |
| 29th July | Budapest | Hungary |
| 26th August | Spa Francorchamps | Belgium |
| 2nd September | Monza | Italy |
| 16th September | Singapore | Singapore |
| 30th September | Sochi | Russia |
| 7th October | Suzuka | Japan |
| 21st October | Auston | USA |
| 28th October | Mexico City | Mexico |
| 11th November | Sao Paulo | Brazil |
| 25th November | Yas Marina | Abu Dhabi |
2018 F1 Driver Line up
| Team | Driver’s |
|---|---|
| Mercedes | Lewis Hamilton & Valtteri Bottas |
| Ferrari | Sebastian Vettel & Kimi Raikkonen |
| Red Bull | Daniel Ricciardo & Max Verstappen |
| Force India | Sergio Perez & Esteban Ocon |
| Williams | Lance Stroll & Sergey Sirotkin |
| Renault | Nico Hulkenberg & Carlos Sainz |
| Toro Rosso | Pierre Gasly & Brendon Hartley |
| Haas | Romain Grosjean & Kevin Magnussen |
| McLaren | Fernando Alonso & Stoffel Vandoorne |
| Sauber | Marcus Ericsson & Charles Leclerc |
Latest news
Standing restarts
If a race gets red flagged, the restart will now be a standing start from the grid, rather than a rolling restart behind a Safety Car.
Weight limit
The minimum weight limit for a F1 cars has been increased by 5kg from last year. Cars can weigh no less than 733kg for the 2018 season.
Start times
For 2018 the start of the race will now be 10 minutes past the hour rather than on the hour. All European races have also been moved back an hour.
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