A new season brings new rules

Mar 6, 2008, 10:29 GMT

Austrian Formula One test pilot Christian Klien of BMW Sauber prepares his \'F1.08\' with mechanics to start their first training session held at Royal Flying Club of Mahon, 29 February 2008, in Mallorca, Balearics. The first F1 race of the season takes place next 16 March 2008 in Australia. EPA/Alonso

Hamburg - The green winds of change and the harsh chill of economic reality are blowing through Formula One as the sport looks to make a raft of changes in 2008 to help move it in a more cost- effective and environmentally-friendly direction.

New regulations introduced by motorsport's ruling body FIA for this season mean that at least 5.75 per cent of all fuel must contain biomatter and, consequently, all cars must be designed to be biofuel compliant.

FIA has said it will introduce major rule changes by 2011 to promote fuel conservation, including smaller engines, and this move can be seen as a first step.

However, the most obvious change to the rules for 2008 will be the ban of traction and launch control, a move that F1 fans hope will lead to more overtaking during races as drivers will make more mistakes as they have to rely on skill alone on the grid and around the circuit.

There has been a slight alteration to Saturday's qualifying format. The session will still be broken into three parts with cars knocked out in each of the first two sessions leaving the final 10 drivers to fight it out for pole position.

But the final session has been reduced from 15 minutes to 10, and, more importantly, refuelling afterwards is banned. This means an end to fuel burn runs by teams and also affects how heavy cars will be on the grid.

The rules regarding engine changes remain virtually the same as in 2007 with drivers required to use the same engine for two consecutive races.

However, this season each driver is allowed one free change, unless that change takes place at the final race of the year.

Any engine failure in final practice or qualifying that results in a change ahead of the race will see the driver incur a grid penalty - 10 places if the change was made before qualifying, or the back of the grid if it was made following qualifying.

From 2008, all teams must use standardized, FIA-approved Electronic Control Units (ECUs), which reduces development costs for the teams and also allows FIA to monitor car performance more accurately.

Another cost-cutting measure is the new requirement that gearboxes must now last for four consecutive races. An unscheduled gearbox change will result in the driver dropping five places on the grid. If he fails to finish a race, the driver can start the next meeting with a new gearbox without incurring a penalty.

Finally, the height of the cockpit padding has been increased to improve driver safety. The move will increase head protection in the event of an impact.