The F1 Commission met on Wednesday to discuss the proposal for a Rookie Sprint race to be held after the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

After months of positivity towards the idea of holding a Rookie Sprint race after the Abu Dhabi GP, a meeting of the F1 Commission on Wednesday has resulted in a decision not to go ahead with the proposal this season.

F1 Commission opts against continuing with Rookie Sprint race plan

As reported on Tuesday, the F1 Commission met to discuss the possibility of hosting a unique ‘Rookie Sprint’ race in the days following the season finale at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi.

The idea was to transform the usual post-season Young Driver Test into a Rookie Sprint race, setting junior drivers loose behind the wheels of the retiring F1 cars for a more representative outing than pounding around a track by themselves for eight hours.

There were plenty of factors to be taken into account to get the idea across the line, such as defining the exact regulations under which the race could be held, how it factors into the budget cap, and how to work the Pirelli tyre test – usually held concurrently – around it.

The laundry list of considerations to make the idea work has proven too much of a hurdle to be able to make it work for this season, with a meeting of the F1 Commission on Wednesday taking place at the VCARB factory in Italy to discuss the topic.

It was the fourth such meeting of the F1 Commission this year, with the FIA’s Single-Seater Director Nikolas Tombazis joined by F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and representatives from each of the 10 teams.

“The concept of a “rookie race” to be added to the 2024 post-season test schedule at Abu Dhabi was discussed,” read a statement from the FIA afterward.

“While the concept received widespread support, it was determined that due to timing and organisational constraints, the event would not take place in 2024, and discussions will continue to formulate a potential concept and plan for 2025.”

With widespread support amongst team bosses having been publicly expressed in recent weeks, it appears the organisation of such an event will be of greater importance in 2025.

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F1 2026 regulations further fleshed out

Also on the agenda at the F1 Commission meeting were the F1 2026 Regulations, covering Technical, Sporting, and Financial.

On the Technical front, amendments have been made in the areas of performance, aerodynamics, and safety – the teams expect the aerodynamic performance of the cars to be above initial expectations.

The Sporting Regulations for 2026 have been revamped in the interest of simplicity, with plans being firmed up to introduce three separate three-day pre-season tests in order to allow the teams ample time to get on top of the revolutionary cars and power units.

The 2026 Financial Regulations are a further evolution of the current regulations, with tweaks made to further improve the balance between “sporting fairness and financial sustainability”.

The changes made to the Regulation books will be presented for ratification by the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council on Thursday, October 17th, with the resulting publishing of the books in the aftermath of this allowing for greater analysis.

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