2004 Regulation changes

Together with these small things, teams have agreed with some changes in race weekend layout and changes to somehow limit the progress of current F1 development.

Single Engine Rule In the 2004 Formula One Championship only one engine per driver per race will be available. The use of a spare engine will demote the driver ten places down the grid.
An engine replacement after the second qualifying session will even mean an immediate loss of qualifying time, and thereby a start from the back of the grid.

Electronic Aids From the beginning of the 2004 season, launch control will be forbidden, however traction control will still be allowed.
Full automatic gearboxes are now banned, and the FIA now only allows semi-automatic boxes

Friday 11.00-12.00 Free practice
14.00-15.00 Free practice

During both sessions all teams, other than those who finished in the top four positions of the previous year’s World Championship for Constructors, will be permitted to run a third car provided any driver of this car:

- is not one of the team’s nominated drivers for the Event in question; - is in possession of a Super Licence; - has not taken place in more than six World Championship Events during the two previous World Championships.

Saturday 10.00-10.45 Free practice
11.15-12.00 Free practice
14.00 Qualifying begins and will be run as follows: - the session will be held in two parts separated by two minutes; - during the first part each driver will carry out a single timed lap as now starting in the order they finished in the previous race. At the first race of the year the order of the last Event of the previous year’s World Championship will be used (in both cases any new drivers will be arranged in numerical order); - any car stopping in the first part will not be allowed to take part in the second, if the car is brought back to the pits before the end of the session it must remain in parc fermé until the end of the session; - refuelling rigs will be allowed in the first part subject to everyone wearing suitable clothing and photographers being restricted as for a race; - the running order for the second part will be determined by the times achieved in the first part reversed; - cars will run with race fuel and race settings as in 2003;

Sunday 14.00 Race

A driver that did not participate in one of both qualifying sessions will be drawn out of the race on sunday.

Tyre use and allocation The number of dry-weather tyres available to each driver during the Event will remain the same at forty, twenty front and twenty rear. The choice of dry-weather tyre for qualifying and race must be made by 09.00 on Saturday. However, if both Friday sessions are declared wet this choice may be postponed until 13.00 on Saturday. The number of wet-weather tyres available to each driver during the Event will remain the same at twenty-eight, fourteen front and fourteen rear. Extreme weather tyres will continue to be permitted but, as now, may only be used when authorised.

Parc fermé procedures To remain the same as in 2003 but the practice of fuel circulation for the purposes of cooling will now be prohibited.

Number of drivers per car Each team will now be allowed to use four drivers during each season, not including any third driver running in the Friday sessions.

Pit lane speed limit The speed limit for qualifying and race will be raised to 100 km/h. In accordance with Article 100 (of the draft 2004 Sporting Regulations) the Permanent Bureau may be asked to consider a lower limit at tracks which have a particularly narrow pit lane.

Car properties Minimum size of the airbox cover: "When viewed from the side, the car must have bodywork in the triangle formed by three lines, one vertical passing 1330mm forward of the rear wheel centre line, one horizontal 550mm above the reference plane and one diagonal which intersects the vertical at a point 940mm above the reference plane and the horizontal 330mm forward of the rear wheel centre line. Any bodywork within this area situated less than 1000 mm from the rear wheel centre line must be arranged symmetrically about the car centre line."

Minimum weight: The weight of the car must not be less than 605 kg during each qualifying practice session and no less than 600 kg at all other times during the Event.

Brake air ducts: Brake air ducts may not be higher than 160mm above the horizontal centre line of the wheel, and not lower than 160mm under that wheel centre line. It may also not be further than 120mm away from the inner face of the wheel rim towards the car centre line.
Furthermore, when viewed from the side the ducts must not
protrude forwards beyond the periphery of the tyre or backwards
beyond the wheel rim.