F1 agrees 2021 rules delay as Hamilton joins summit

As reported by Motorsport.com earlier this week, the FIA had invited teams to a get together at its headquarters to try to break the deadlock over the signing off of plans for a 2021 overhaul.

While there had been some support of draft proposals presented to teams before the Canadian Grand Prix, there remained cause for concern about several areas of the proposals.

Ferrari team principal Mattia Binotto had suggested that the rules were "really green and not mature enough to be voted on."

Those worries prompted a series of meetings over the Montreal weekend to discuss what to do next, with the FIA aware that under its Sporting Code it needed to publish the rules before the end of this month unless teams fully backed a delay.

However, attempts to garner unanimous support over the Canadian GP weekend failed, with Renault in particular concerned that any delay would open to door to the big teams having more time to soften rule changes.

However, following the meeting in Paris – which included technical chiefs, Pirelli and drivers Hamilton, Nico Hulkenberg and Alexander Wurz – a consensus was reached about a delay.

A statement issued by F1 said that the agreement to hold back publication until the end of October was approved unanimously.

It said: “While the FIA Formula 1 World Championship’s key stakeholders feel the core objectives outlined for the future set of regulations have been defined, in the interests of the sport it was agreed that the best outcome will be achieved by using the extra time for further refinement and additional consultation.

“Furthermore, following today’s first meeting featuring the aforementioned stakeholders, a series of additional meetings will be held over the coming months.”

The presence of drivers was significant, as there have been growing calls from them to have a bigger input in to rules to try to make the racing better.

Speaking in Canada, Verstappen said that the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA) was eager to help in a bid to make sure the sport made the right moves.

“We try to indicate what we want,” he said. “I think that this has also given us wider cars and more speed. But we don't agree with how the downforce is generated. So we are trying to give feedback on that.”