FIA, here are the Operational Regulations: what they are
The motorsport governing body has confirmed it will revise F1’s rules to adopt gender-neutral language, as the current regulations reference only male competitors. F1 teams are already bound by the Sporting, Technical, and Financial Regulations, the last of which—introduced in 2021—is commonly referred to as the budget cap. Additionally, all FIA-sanctioned series must comply with the International Sporting Code.
From 2026, the Formula 1 regulations will be divided into four sections: alongside the sporting, financial, and technical parts, there will be an operational one. It will be called the Operational Regulations and was approved by the World Motor Sport Council during its meeting today, December 11, in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.
“It will regulate certain activities of F1 teams that take place outside the race weekend,” the FIA stated. “For this first version of the regulations, some elements historically included in the Sporting Regulations, such as restrictions on aerodynamic testing, power unit testing, and mandatory shutdown periods, have been transferred.”
Gender-neutral language promoted
Another section of the statement confirms that the International Federation is updating the 2026 Sporting Regulations following the principle of gender-neutral language, as the current rules assume the driver is male. Every instance of this association (the term “him,” which appears 14 times in the latest version of the Sporting Regulations) will be replaced with the more neutral “the driver.”
This action mirrors measures the FIA has recently implemented for Formula 2 and Formula 3. It is, however, largely symbolic, as the last woman to participate in a race weekend was Susie Wolff in 2015, while the last female driver to compete in a Grand Prix was Lella Lombardi, who finished 12th in Austria in 1976.
