Cars produced between 1991 and 2000 will be eligible for competition in historic events from next year, following an adjustment to the FIA’s International Sporting Code. 

It was announced following today’s meeting of the FIA World Motor Sport Council that a tweak to the ISC’s Appendix K, which covers historic racing, means cars built during the 1990s and in the last year of the millennium will be able to carry Historic Technical Passports that are required for eligibility in FIA-run championships.

The governing body has stated that it will conduct workshops in early 2025 to assist the owners of newly-eligible historic cars with applications for the required documentation to allow the cars to race.  

Further announcements are set to follow, the FIA has pledged.

F1 cars from the 3.5-litre era into the early years of the V10’s domination will notably be able to race, having previously only been approved for demonstration purposes.

Cars produced during the glory years of touring car racing’s fabled Super Touring era will qualify, as will cars built during the pinnacle of Formula 3000’s open-make era that concluded in 1995, and its first two single-make Lola chassis from 1996 and 1999.

Among the rally cars now eligible for historic competition are those from the early years of the World Rally Championship regulations that began in 1997, as well as the Group A era that preceded it, while revered sportscars including prototypes and GT cars that raced in the Le Mans 24 Hours and FIA GT championship may also return to racing.

Tarso Marques (BRA) DAMS Reynard 95D leads the field into the first corner on the way to his first ever Formula 3000 victory.

Photo by: Sutton Images

Advertisement

Certain cars from the era already have series in which to compete. 

Group C and IMSA GTP machinery from 1982 to 1993 will be eligible for the newly created Masters Le Mans 80+ category organised by Masters Historic Racing next year.

The F1 ’90s Time Attack Mediterranean Challenge was set up this year in France for F1 cars built between 1986-2000 and 1985-2000 F3000 machinery.

Numerous club-level categories for Super Touring machinery have been organised, but have often struggled for entries due to the cost of running cars that, as the era progressed, used increasingly bespoke components.

Laurent Aïello, Vodafone Nissan Racing, Nissan Primera GT, leads Rickard Rydell, Volvo S40 Racing, Volvo S40, Jason Plato, Nescafé Blend 37 Williams Renault, Renault Laguna, and Peter Kox, Team Honda Sport, Honda Accord, at the start of the race.

Photo by: Malcolm Griffiths

Formula E organisers have been unable to find a 17th race for the upcoming season that leaves a two-month gap in the schedule, but plan to host an as-yet-unannounced event that will “maintain engagement with fans”.

A 17-race calendar was initially announced in June by the all-electric championship, with a TBD slot slated for the 8 March which would have been the fourth round in the schedule.

But at the FIA’s World Motor Sport Council meeting on Thursday, the governing body confirmed that only a 16-race season would be held, beginning with Sao Paulo in December and ending in London next July.

Motorsport.com understands that Chiang Mai in Thailand was originally proposed as the TBD venue but a change in government meant that the possibility of holding a Formula E race in the country for the first time fell through.

Other alternative options were also explored, including a second race in China with a return to Sanya alongside a visit to Shanghai on 31 May-1 June, as well as potentially hosting a third race in Berlin, which already has a double-header on 12-13 July.

Fans at the podium

Photo by: Andreas Beil

It means there is now a two-month gap between the third round in Saudi Arabia, using a truncated version of Jeddah’s Formula 1 layout on 14-15 February for the first time, and the inaugural race at the Homestead-Miami Speedway in the US on 12 April.

It is also the second year in succession where a scheduled race has been lost from the initial schedule, after Hyderabad was removed from the 2023/24 calendar again due to changes in local government.

Following the WMSC meeting, a Formula E spokesperson said: “We are excited to deliver the calendar of 16 Formula E races in Season 11 that was announced earlier this year – the same number that led to record-breaking fan and broadcast audience growth globally.

“Across 10 events we’ll race at several long-standing favourites, with upgrades to double headers in some locations and some fantastic new venues in key markets.

“With the arrival of the new Gen3 Evo technology putting our drivers behind the wheel of the fastest cars ever raced in Formula E, we can’t wait to get the season started and couldn’t be more excited about the potential the championship has to thrill and attract new fans.

“Work is already underway to build and maintain engagement with fans all season long, with more details to be announced in the coming months.” 

As the Circuit of The Americas prepares to host the US Grand Prix for a 12th time, a trio of Formula One teams have made their way to the Lone Star State with fresh liveries.

The 19th race in the 2024 F1 calendar and the second of three to be hosted by the US this season — following a trip to Miami in May — Austin will mark another opportunity for Haas F1 Team to impress their home fans some 1,200 miles away from the team’s base in North Carolina.

This time around, Haas has announced that Nico Hulkenberg and Kevin Magnussen’s VF-24s will take to the 5.5-kilometer circuit sporting a unique take on their usual black, white, and red livery.

With stars and stripes across the front wing, hints of blue can also be seen throughout the design. Most notably, the fresh paintwork includes an eagle and star design on both side pods alongside the team’s logo.

The team revealed their bold new look on X, tweeting, “Made in America…Turning up to Texas with symbols of home.”

Aside from Haas, McLaren‘s Lando Norris and Oscar Piastriwill also take to the Texas tarmac donning striking new liveries.

McLaren United States GP livery

Photo by: McLaren

The Woking-based team is adding a mirror-esque finish to the MCL38, with chrome adorning much of the side pods and airbox cover in celebration of their ongoing partnership with Google. Chrome will also be present on both Norris and Piastri’s race suits in Austin.

This will mark the second time this livery has been run by McLaren after it made its debut at the 2023 British Grand Prix.

According to the team, the decision to bring back the chrome livery is a continuation of their “Chrome Shines Again” campaign, which they say acts as a nod to “the iconic chrome from McLaren race cars of seasons past.”

However, the star of the show in Austin will arguably be Alpine. The Enstone team has partnered with sponsors Xbox on a thoroughly unique design for the upcoming grand prix, celebrating the impending release of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle — which is slated for release in December.

Alpine F1 Team United States GP livery

Photo by: Alpine

Advertisement

The A524’s bare carbon fiber heavy shell will be covered in torn sections of an aged map, reminiscent of those seen within the iconic movie franchise. The game’s logo also features just in front of the side pods, with the driver’s numbers written in the same unique font on the nose.

Alpine’s “sunset orange” scheme including a world map will also be used on Pierre Gasly and Esteban Ocon’s one-off racing suits, as per F1.

“Working with the Xbox team to bring alive the incredible Indiana Jones and the Great Circle livery for the United States Grand Prix has been fantastic,” Alpine team principal Oliver Oakes said. 

“The new look will be right at home in the Austin setting this weekend.”

Thierry Neuville doesn’t need any advice and knows “what he needs to do” to take a maiden World Rally Championship title this weekend, according to Hyundai boss Cyril Abiteboul. 

Neuville heads into this weekend’s penultimate round of the season in Central Europe knowing he will claim rallying’s ultimate prize if he extends his 29-point lead beyond 30 points.

Hyundai team-mate Ott Tanak is his nearest rival, while Toyota’s Sébastien Ogier and Elfyn Evans are still mathematically in the mix, albeit 41 and 46 points behind respectively, with 60 left on the table.  

Neuville has led the championship since winning the Monte Carlo opener in January. The Belgian has been locked in title fights before only to come up short, finishing as the runner-up on five occasions (2013, 2016-2019).

Heading into what could be a career-defining weekend, Abiteboul is confident his driver will handle the occasion correctly.

“He knows exactly what he needs to do,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com. “It doesn’t mean that we have not discussed [the situation].

“I think there things that I have simply kept on repeating because there is a bit of pressure from everyone from the system, from the media, to say ‘you can win this rally’. 

“’You can win this rally’ should not turn into ‘you must win this rally’ because again, there are 13 rounds, not 12. If you try to do a job that you’ve been assigned for 13 weeks and you are trying to make it in 12 weeks, that’s where you can underperform. 

Thierry Neuville, Martijn Wydaeghe, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Vincent Thuillier / Hyundai Motorsport

“Let’s not try to win at any cost or to outscore everyone at any cost. Let’s do what we’ve been doing so far and it’s a long game. We’ve been playing the long game actually [for] quite a while and we should not stop at the last moment. 

“I think his career has been full of amazing moments like that, but also of moments where mistakes were made also on the wrong time, so I think I want to protect him from himself, and removing unnecessary pressure is exactly what we need to do. 

“He needs to do his rally and manage his advantage. He’s got the advantage, he’s got the cards in hand, he should not give the cards to someone else.”

Despite being the closest he’s ever been to a WRC title, Neuville says he doesn’t plan to alter his approach on the Central European Rally asphalt stages he conquered last year.  

“I’m feeling okay so far. I’m looking forward as it is a tarmac rally ahead, which I enjoy, and it is going to be challenging but a nice weekend,” Neuville told Motorsport.com. 

“At the moment It feels quite calm to be honest, and maybe the pressure will come throughout the weekend. I don’t know, but at the moment I am just trying to stay focused.

“We don’t need to win the championship necessarily this weekend, but of course we want to and we hope. But we have had a good strategy so far this year, and there’s no reason to change that.”

Continue reading with advertising …

… or with a subscription

Visit motorsport.com as usual with advertising and tracking. You can revoke your consent at any time via the data protection page.¹

Use motorsport.com without any advertising banners, personalized tracking and commercials for a small fee.

Accept and continue

More information about advertising and tracking in our Data protection notice, the List of our partners and in Data protection information center.

Already a subscriber?

Log in here

World Rally Championship teams have expressed their thoughts regarding the possibility of a last-minute change to remove hybrid power from Rally1 cars for next season.

It appears there is a strong chance the FIA could decide to abandon hybrid power from the WRC’s top-flight class in a move that has been triggered by a mid-season change to the hybrid unit user guide from control supplier Compact Dynamics.

This is the latest in a long-running saga over the 2025 WRC regulations.The FIA’s working group, formed to “evaluate and recommend the future direction of rallying, proposed to remove hybrid power as part of raft of changes for 2025 in February this year.

However, WRC teams pushed back against the changes, resulting in the current Rally1 regulations staying put for 2025 and 2026 in what was seen as a U-turn from the FIA.

As previously reported, Compact Dynamics’ new safety guidelines stipulate that if the 130kW hybrid unit suffers three shock errors over 15G or one over 25G, it has to be stripped apart and sent back to the supplier for a full repair that can take months to complete.

Teams believe the change brought in at the Acropolis Rally Greece in September will significantly raise hybrid unit repair costs, with one team arguing it would no longer be financially viable.

An FIA e-vote has since been held where teams have expressed their thoughts as to whether hybrid power should continue next year. A decision is yet to be made. 

M-Sport-Ford team principal Richard Millener says the “extreme costs” now involved to run the hybrid units has made it no longer feasible for the Ford squad next year.    

“I think I would still like it [hybrid] in terms of what it is about, and what we are trying to push in terms of a championship with hybrid technology is still important,” Millener told Motorsport.com. 

“But sadly, with the rules that we have regarding the safety of the units and how they have to be repaired after a shock, with extreme costs to repair them, and that’s not feasible for us. 

Kalle Rovanperä, Jonne Halttunen, Toyota Gazoo Racing WRT Toyota GR Yaris Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

“It is not a request to remove it for what it is, it is a request to remove it because we can’t actually repair and run them at an economic price for M-Sport. We are talking a few extra million euro to do it and that is not something we can deal with. 

“It is not good, that image [of constant rule changes] from the outside and I have said before we need to have a strong leadership and a strong image of where we are going and we are struggling with that and we need to improve it.

“People will skew the reason and I’m sure people will blame the teams and some people will blame the FIA, but the supplier is not able to give us the product in the way we need it to work for us.”

Toyota is hopeful a sensible solution can be found but has questioned if hybrid power is still required moving forward.

“It’s not an ideal situation for sure,” Toyota team principal Jari-Matti Latvala told Motorsport.com. “We don’t want expenses to go higher and we want to keep things simple, and if it is getting too complicated the the question is do we really need them [hybrid units]? 

“I think performance-wise the cars are pretty good even without it. But it shouldn’t get too difficult for the teams and if there is a risk that teams cannot be in the World Rally Championship because they are running out of units, then it shouldn’t be that way. 

“It is difficult as running these units and if they have an impact they need to be fixed and that takes time, so we need to find a sensible solution. At the end of the day if it is too difficult then it is easier to go without.”  

Ott Tänak, Martin Järveoja, Hyundai World Rally Team Hyundai i20 N Rally1

Photo by: Red Bull Content Pool

Hyundai has been vocal in its support of hybrid power previously this year but even its team principal Cyril Abitebeoul admitted that if would accept a change if it helped ensure the future of its competitors in the WRC.

“My thoughts are that electrification is the direction that the world is taking. We know that it’s an ongoing trend and therefore we are still supportive of electrifying motorsport electrifying WRC,” Abiteboul told Motorsport.com. 

“We will never actively or proactively request to remove the hybrid from WRC. Having said that, we also need to be pragmatic and recognise the fact that the WRC community is a small community and as any small community, we need to look after one another.

“So if there is any steps that must be taken in order to guarantee participants and competitors at the events we will accept to take those steps. We don’t want to be selfish. I don’t think that anyone can afford to be selfish in the current situation of WRC.

“One thing we must have is a decision very quickly. We are in the process of ordering parts, not the hybrid themselves, because that’s been done already since a while.

“If hybrid was to be removed, I think that’s something we will want to know as quickly as possible to avoid the [un]necessary cost.”