The minimum driver weight allowance has been increased from 80 kilograms (176.4 lb) to 82 kilograms (180.8 lb). As a result, the overall minimum weight limit of the car without fuel also increased from 798 kilograms (1,759 lb) to 800 kilograms (1,764 lb). The change was made in the interest of the well-being of the drivers, especially those either taller or heavier.
A driver cooling kit will be introduced for 2025. The system will only be mandated by the FIA in extreme heat conditions, with the minimum weight of the cars increased correspondingly when applicable. This is to avoid a repeat of overheating of the drivers witnessed at the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix. When the FIA predicts a temperature of over 30.5 °C, a “heat hazard” will be declared. This will require teams to equip the drivers with their cooling systems, and the minimum weight will be raised by 5 kilograms (11 lb) to compensate for the equipment.
The slot gaps for the rear wing between the two modes of the DRS will be changed, with the minimum gap reduced. It will be shrunk from 10–15 millimetres (0.39–0.59 in) to 9.4–13 millimetres (0.37–0.51 in); the upper boundary remains at 85 millimetres (3.3 in) with DRS open. The FIA will also tighten up the rules on the DRS modes, stating that there must only be two positions, and that ending the application of DRS must return the wing exactly as defined to the initial mode.
New and more stringent deflection tests on the rear wing will be carried out from the opening round, while other tests on the front wing will be introduced from the Spanish Grand Prix onwards.
There will no longer be a limit on the number of gearboxes used by teams, as the reliability of current designs renders this restriction obsolete.
The point awarded to drivers finishing in the top ten positions for setting the fastest lap in the race, which was reintroduced in 2019, will be abolished.
The requirements for fielding a young driver during free practice will increase from once per season per car to twice per season per car.
The sporting regulations will tighten the restrictions on the testing of previous cars (TPC). This will see a twenty-day limit imposed on TPC, and drivers competing in the championship will only be allowed to cover a maximum of 1,000 kilometres (620 mi) over four days of testing. Testing will only be permitted at circuits that have featured on the calendar in the current or previous year. However, testing is not permitted on tracks which will host a race within sixty days of a test, nor “if the circuit is deemed, at the sole discretion of the FIA, to have undergone significant modification” since the last race.
The sporting regulations will include specifically prescribed provisions for how the starting grids for sprints and Grands Prix should be set in the event that qualifying for these sessions is cancelled. The starting grid will be set according to the drivers’ championship standings. Previously it was left solely to the discretion of the stewards to determine the starting grid order if a qualifying session could not take place. If the Drivers’ Championship standings cannot be applied to determine the starting grid order, it remains at the racing stewards discretion.
The protocol for closing up the grid when some cars do not make it to the start of a race was amended following the starting grid formation for cars withdrawn before the start of the 2024 São Paulo Grand Prix. The final grid will now be determined one hour before the start of the race. Cars that are withdrawn up to 75 minutes before the start will not be included in the final grid, and the following cars will all move up the relevant positions.
Drivers comments are due to be subject to more stringent regulation, and stricter punishment. The issue had first come to light when Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile president Mohammed Ben Sulayem said in an interview that he wanted to see less bad language in Formula One. This was closely followed by Max Verstappen and Charles Leclerc both being investigated and punished for swearing in Formula One interviews. The penalties for “driver misconduct” covers “language, […], gesture[s] and/or sign[s] that is offensive, insulting, coarse, rude or abusive and might reasonably be expected or be perceived to be coarse or rude or to cause offense, humiliation or to be inappropriate”, as well as assault and “incitement to do any of the above”. A first offense would incur a €40,000 fine, a second offense would see a €80,000 fine and a suspended suspension, with a third offense resulting in a €120,000 fine, a one-month suspension, and a point deduction. The same penalty scale is set to apply to any “moral injury or loss” to the “FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers” or its values. The making of “political, religious and personal statements or comments” which contravenes the FIA’s neutrality will also be subject to the same penalties, with the added caveat that drivers will be required to make a full apology and retract their statement.
With the aim of promoting better racing, there will be an increase in the number of mandatory pit stops for the Monaco Grand Prix. The Grand Prix will see the implementation of a minimum two-stop strategy, in both wet and dry conditions. The teams will also be mandated to use at least three sets of tyres in the race, with a minimum of two different tyre compounds if it is a dry race.
